Who Could Love a Puppet?
by l33tmansayswoot
Summary: A malevolent force threatens Mahora. What does a new student arriving have to do with it? Zazie X OC. Please R & R flames accepted.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I don't own negima, or any other character I will be using 

Author's note – I will be using many different characters from other series' to make up for my own laziness at making new characters. There's only really one original character in here at all. Also, I'm not familiar enough with Japanese schools to write about it, so I'm sticking with the american schedule.

READ Author note!!!!!

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The sound of birds chirping outside her window, along with a vivid nightmare, woke her from a restless sleep. Raising her head, she shielded her eyes against the light streaming from the lone window and saw that her roommate, Tatsumiya Mana, was already up and brushing her long dark hair. Noticing she was awake, Mana turned and smiled.

"Morning, Zazie. New term starts today. We're high school students now, so the term starts earlier."

Zazie Rainyday, turned 16 last spring, rose out of bed and went to go take a shower to get ready for the day. She was brushing her white hair and slipping into her school uniform when Mana spoke again.

"What do you think about classes being integrated this year?"

Zazie turned and put down the brush. "I don't know. I don't think it will make much of a difference."

"True. I've heard that they're making some other changes to, but we'll deal with those as they come."

As they left the dorm rooms, Zazie's bird flitted down to land on her shoulder. Zazie turned her head and let a rare smile cross her face before they left for the Academy.

Elsewhere "Negi-bouzu!!! Hurry up, we'll be late! Again!" Asuna yelled. 

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Negi yelled back.

Negi, Asuna, and Konoka were running from the station so they wouldn't be late for the first day of school. Konoka skated up to be beside Asuna and said, "It's a shame that the class integration splits up 3-A. It's going to be weird not being with everyone."

"Yeah, I know. We'll still have a few people, though. And at least Negi is still out homeroom teacher."

Negi, meanwhile, had finally caught up to them. "It'll definitely be strange not having all the same people, but you can't take a class of 31 and combine it with another class of 31 and put them under one teacher."

Asuna sighed. "I guess. But it'll still be strange."

_Elsewhere again_

A lone person stepped out onto the campus with a backpack hung on one shoulder. He was an inch under six feet tall, with blond hair that almost covered his blue eyes. He wore black tennis shoes, a pair of blue jeans, and a white short sleeved collared shirt left unbuttoned over a plain white T-shirt. He looked at his surroundings and grinned.

"So this is my new school huh? Looks like a fun place."

His expression darkened for a minute, as though remembering something.

"That's right… I have to remember why I'm here…"

He hoisted the backpack higher on his shoulder and heard a bell ring out over the grounds.

"Oh, crap! I'm late!"

He broke out into a dead sprint towards the school buildings.

_In the Classroom_

Negi looked around at his new class, already recognizing a few people from his old class. "Morning, all of you. I will be your homeroom and English teacher, Negi Springfield. I would like to start class by taking roll call."

He got out his new class register. "Le-"

A blond boy burst into his class, hurtling through the door with such force that he ran into

Negi, knocking both of them from their feet.

"Aaaah, I'm sorry! I was trying to be on time!" The boy looked around at the rest of the class already seated. "I guess I didn't make it, huh?"

Negi got to his feet, rubbing a bump developing on his head. "No, you didn't. Also why aren't you in the uniform?"

The boy looked down at his clothes. "Sorry, they haven't given me one yet. I just got here this morning."

"Ah, I see, you are the new transfer student from America?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, alright then, I'll see to getting you your new uniform. Also, try not to be late in the future. I'll let you off this once because you may not have been familiar with our bell schedule."

"Thanks, Sensei"

"Please, call me Negi-sensei."

The boy went and took his seat. Negi resumed taking roll.

"Lee Obidia!"

The blonde boy looked up. "That's me, Negi-sensei."

"Alright." Negi made a check. "Asuna Kagurazaka!"

Asuna raised her hand. "Here!"

Negi proceeded on down the list until he was satisfied that everyone was here.

"And last, Zazie Rainyday."

Zazie looked up, "Here."

"Good, that's everyone. Now we'll start today's lesson."

Lee's POV 

Lee had been looking at all the students as they answered their names, wanting to get familiar with his classmates.

"And last, Zazie Rainyday."

A girl with white hair and a teardrop tattoo under her left eye and a scar tattoo over her right eye looked up. "Here."

And for some reason, Lee found he couldn't look away. Something twitched inside himself right then, and he didn't know quite what.

Man, she's cute… 

With great effort, he tore his gaze away to try and pay attention to the lesson.

Later that day 

When the last bell rung, everyone piled out of the school building, eager to have some free time after a long day of school. Lee walked out looking at the ground, still unable to get that queer sensation out of his chest after looking at Zazie.

_Man, why can't I get her out of my head! Geez, how could I fall for someone on my first day?_

As everyone scattered to their dorm rooms to change into some day clothes, Lee realized that he never found out where the dorms were.

_Oops… that could be a problem._

Looking around, he only saw a couple of girls he didn't know. However, behind him he heard someone coming out of the school. Turning around, he beheld Mana coming out, along with none other then Zazie herself.

_Phew, at least there's someone I sort of know._

He walked over to them. "Hello, Mana, Zazie."

They simply stared at him. Feeling his blood rush to his face, he managed to sputter out,

"Umm… s-so do either of you know where the b-boys dormitory is?"

He tried to keep from looking at Zazie while he was talking, but he couldn't help it. He ended up either looking at the ground or at Zazie; not quite the effect he would be looking for.

After he asked his question, they regarded him impassively for a few seconds. Finally Zazie broke the silence.

"We're girls; we wouldn't know the location of the boys dorm." She said in a monotone voice, without changing her expression from her usual impassive look.

As they moved off, Lee watched them go more than a little forlornly.

_Man… now she must think I'm an idiot._

Negi came out of the school building right then, and trooted over to Lee.

"Hello, Lee. Do you need any help with anything?"

Lee tore his gaze from the departing figures of Zazie and Mana and ran his hand through his hair as he turned to Negi.

"Yeah… I could use some help finding the Boy's dorms… and I still need my uniform."

"Alright follow me."

As they moved off, Lee couldn't help but throw one more glance at the direction Mana and Zazie had gone. Then, sighing, he turned to follow Negi.

_Zazie's POV_

That night in the dorm as Zazie and Mana slipped into their pajamas, Mana asked, "So, what do you thin about our class this year?"

Zazie finished buttoning her shirt. "I don't know. I didn't really pay attention."

Mana giggled as she got into bed. "Yeah. Still, at least one interesting thing happened today. Remember that guy on the steps? Why would he think WE would where the boy's dorms are? Isn't he an idiot?" Mana giggled to herself again as she closed her eyes.

Zazie went to the window and opened it, looking out into the night as her bird flew down to perch on her shoulder. She rubbed a finger against its cheek as she gazed up at the moon.

"Yeah, I guess."

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So, there's the first Chapter of my first long fic. I know I'm femnizing Mana, but I need to modify some personalities to fit the storyline. Don't worry, she'll be back in all her gun-slinging glory soon. Also, I'm kind of sporadic with my updates, so please bear with me.

Also, REVIEW!!!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – I don't own negima, or any other character I will be using 

Author's note – So, this is the first long story I'm actually following up on. W00t! Also, it should be noted that this chapter takes place a couple of days later, so Lee now knows everyone in his class.

READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!

Daughter of ether – Thanks for reviewing!!! I hope you'll stick with my story, even though I will be the first to admit that I'm a novice at extended plots. I still need practice at setting things up.

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The sun was just peeking out from the horizon, casting dark red and purple shadows over the skies above Mahora campus. No one had a reason to be outside at this ungodly hour, not even the birds.

Yet, someone was.

A lone figure stood in the upper branches of the world tree, regarding the new day with a grim face. Leaping down, the figure landed silently as a cat. He walked around the trunk until he stood in its shadow. Placing a hand on the trunk, he frowned.

"Here too, huh? Well, there's no definite evidence yet…"

Taking his hand away, the figure turned and strolled briskly away.

Elsewhere 

Zazie was having a nightmare.

It was a familiar dream, one she was used to, except a little more vivid than before. As usual, she dreamed she was a small child, running in darkness, searching, for what she couldn't tell.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Somehow, inexplicably, the darkness became even darker. It grew, and grew, and grew, until it filled her entire field of vision.

It was darkness so dark that it could suck up the light.

Looking at it filled her with a nameless fear. Tears welled up in her eyes, as she slowly backed away, even as the darkness grew closer.

Her breath was coming fast now, her tears flowing freely. She finally turned to run, a scream ripping form her thro-

"Zazie!"

Zazie opened her eyes to find Mana leaning over her, her hands on her shoulders. She looked very concerned. "Was it the same dream again?"

Zazie rubbed leftover tears from her eyes and looked away. "Yes. Except worse."

Mana's face fell a little. "Oh, Zazie…"

Getting out of bed, Zazie walked over and opened the window, allowing her bird to come down and land on her shoulder.

Somehow, in an intangible way, she shook herself free of the last of the memories of the nightmare. Turning to look at Mana with serene yellow eyes, she let a small smile grace her features as she rubbed a finger on her bird's head.

"I'm all right. It's ok."

Not entirely reassured, but willing to trust her friend's judgement, Mana went to go change to get ready for school.

Zazie turned back to look out the window for a moment. A cloud crossed the face of the sun for a moment, casting a shadow over her face. For a split second, her eyes looked slightly worried.

But as the cloud passed, so did the look. Closing the window, Zazie went to go take a shower.

Lee's POV 

As Lee walked into the classroom, he sighed in relief that he wasn't late. Rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his school uniform, he found his seat and sat down, dropping his bag beside his chair. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and relaxed. Idly he caught a few words of a conversation being held behind him.

"…I didn't sleep very good, because I was woken by a nightmare…"

"Really? I had one too…"

"Strange. Usually you guys sleep like the dead!"

Turning around, Lee saw Makie, Akira, and Ako laughing at Akira's comment. Trying to make it seem like passing interest, he approached them.

"A nightmare? What was it like?

Makie turned to look at him. "Oh, hi Lee!"

The other two turned to regard him as well. As if by some unknown signal, all three burst into giggles. Trying to school his patience, he asked again. "Makie, you mentioned you had a nightmare. What was it like?"

Still giggling, Makie said, "Well, now that you mention it," her eyes lost focus for a second, "I can't remember…"

Lee turned to Ako. "What about you? The same?"

"Yeah, I never remember my dreams."

Sigh. "Thanks very much, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Negi walked in, commanding silence from the class. "Would everybody please take your seats and open up to page 131 in your textbooks."

Sighing, Lee went back to his seat and took out his books.

Looks like another long day… 

After School, Lee got on the train to get back to the dorms. Sitting down, he dropped his books by his seat and turned to look out the window. Idly he wondered about the strange behavior of his classmates over the past few days. It seemed like every time he walked past a group of girls, it was a rule for them to break out in giggles as they snuck glances at him. He just couldn't understand it.

Once he got back to the dorms, he changed into his street clothes and went to go take a walk. He made his way to the world tree, a place that for some reason comforted him. Placing a hand on the trunk, he wondered how long the monolithic thing had stood there. Then, looking around for anyone watching, he leaped straight up into the lower branches of the tree. Settling himself into a niche in the tree, well hidden, he settled down and closed his eyes, letting his mind wander.

He thought about his classes, which weren't too hard, just boring sometimes. He thought about the new friends he was making at school, like Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna. His mind eventually wandered back to the incident a week before, where he had made such a fool out himself in front of Zazie. He hadn't spoken to her or her friend since. Heck, he barely even looked at her anymore. She probably thought he was an idiot anyway…

His mind wandered to the realm of slumber and Lee drifted off into an impromptu nap.

_Zazie's POV_

After class, Zazie went back to the dorms and dropped off her books. Then, grabbing some change, she went to go to the store to buy some birdseed.

The manager of the store let a huge smile spread across his face when he saw her coming. "Good Afternoon, Zazie-chan! How may I help you today?"

Zazie smiled a small smile, for the manager always said that exact same thing everytime she came. She approached the counter and laid some coins on the table. "Just some birdseed, please."

"Again, Zazie-chan? You go through the stuff almost as fast as I can stock it!" Retreating to the back of his shop, he clattered about for a minute and came back with a 2-pound bag of seed and another half-pound bag of seed. "The usual, I suppose?"

"Yes, thank you." Grabbing the seed, Zazie took her change and left the store.

The manager watched her go for a second, a smile on his face as he watched the diminutive figure walk off. Then he turned his attention to his next customer. "Ah, yes, how may I help you?"

Zazie walked away from the store towards the world tree plaza. Slipping the half-pound bag into her jacket pocket, she opened up the two-pound bag upon reaching the tree and sat down on a bench nearby. Then she looked up and waited expectantly.

Not long after she got there, birds of all sizes began to alight on her shoulders, her head, or the ground around her. Smiling a little, she took some birdseed and threw it out to the birds, and let some eat from her hand as well. The birds flocked all over her, getting at the seed any way they could. Zazie giggled at some of their antics. Soon enough though, the seed was all gone.

Speaking softly, Zazie whispered, "Sorry, I don't have any more. I'll come again tomorrow." The birds strutted around for a while longer, and then one by one they took flight. Zazie watched them fly away until the only remaining bird was the one that habitually sat on her shoulder. Sighing, she turned away when something caught her eye.

Turning around, she saw a rustling in the lower branches of the world tree. (Given, of course, that this is a huge tree so even the lower branches are 20-30 feet off the ground). Moving closer, she looked harder. The closer she got, the more the branches rustled until suddenly, a short yelp sounded from the branches, followed by a form plummeting from the lower branches to crash into a heap at her feet.

_Lee's POV_

The sound of footsteps woke Lee from his nap. He cursed himself for falling asleep, and then turned to see who made the sound. Looking through a gap in the branches, he saw Zazie, with a bag in her arms. Looking harder, he saw tons of birds suddenly swarm her.

Becoming alarmed, he almost went down to help her until he saw she was smiling. He watched quietly as she started passing birdseed around, until all the birds had had some and the bag was empty. Sitting there, watching Zazie watch the birds, he got that queer feeling in his chest again.

_Man is she cute…and such a nice person…_

She started walking off when Lee's foot slipped.

_Crap!_

Trying to regain his balance, he noticed her turn her head his direction and start walking towards the tree.

_Oh, please, no, go away, nothing here…_

But his struggle was in vain. His other foot slipped off as well, and he couldn't react fast enough to grab another branch. With a sharp yell, he plummeted down to crash at her feet.

Dazed, he shook his head and managed to focus long enough to see her emotionless eyes looking at him. After a long pause, and without saying a word, she turned and walked off.

_Damn._

Regaining his balance, he shakily walked back towards the dorms.

_Man, is there some kind of jinx on me around her?_

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Second chapter in record time!!! I put some more romance set-up stuff without meaning to, I meant to take more time to develop, but I couldn't help it. . Oh well.

Review, please!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer – I don't own negima, or any other character I will be using 

Author's note – This update has taken a little longer, I know, I'm sorry. I was stuck for an idea for a bit, and then; calculus homework. Paaaaiiiin.

Thanks to my reviewers, you guys would rock my socks, were I wearing any.

TzuiAssassian – Sorry about the errors, usually I'm good about that. Oh well. I'll try and catch those from now on.

Leah – Thanks. : ). I certainly will.

Daughter of Ether – Definitely trying to go for that style, but I'm new at the long storyline, like I mentioned, so it may not be as subtle, or too subtle. I'll do my best, though.

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"Hurry up, Negi-bouzu, we're actually late this time!"

Asuna, Konoka and Negi were running from the station towards the academy as fast as they could. This is mainly because they actually _were_ late this time. They'd had many close calls before, but nothing like this.

"Asuna, you know we're only late because you overslept. And then you insisted you had to take a shower because it's Takahata-sensei's birthday. (note: I don't actually know when his birthday is, but for the purpose of my story, its today. So there.). And then you took too long tying your hair because you insisted it had to be absolutely perfect. And then-"

"Ok, OK! I get it already! Geez…"

At the Academy, the bell rang to signal the start of the day.

"Crap! Negi, lets just hop on your staff, it's faster that way."

"But what if someone sees us?"

"Don't worry about it, there's no one out right now, everyone's in school."

"Alright, fine. Hop on, you two."

Asuna and Konoka hopped onto Negi's staff, and they sped off for the Academy. Unfortunately for them, however, someone _was _out then. He, as it happened, was also late.

Lee sprinted down the street as fast as he could, bag flying out behind him, buttoning his uniform with his free hand as he went.

"Crap, crap, crap! I'm late!"

Speeding off down the street, he came upon the open field that signaled the final stretch. Glancing off to his right, he beheld the most remarkable thing: Negi, Asuna, and Konoka flying along on a piece of wood.

Upon spotting Lee, Negi went into what was close to a seizure.

"Oh no! He saw us!"

He was so preoccupied with Lee seeing his magic, he forgot to watch where he was going.

"Negi-bouzu, look out!"

Too late. CRASH!!!

They slammed face-first into the side of the school building, causing their bags' contents to go exploding in every direction. Somewhat bemused, Lee slowed to a halt and helped them gather up their books and papers.

_This is great! If I arrive the same time as the teacher, they can't get mad at me!_

Negi went to his staff first, and looked it over carefully to see if it had been damaged in its collision with the wall. It _was_ a magical staff, but you never knew. Seeming satisfied, his face grew more apprehensive as he walked over to Lee.

"Um… Le, did you see what we were doing?"

"What, you mean flying? Yeah, sure. Your landing needs a little work though. Oh, by the way, I didn't know you were a mage, Sensei. I guess I should have expected that, though. Mahora's kinda famous for that kind of thing."

Three pairs of jaws dropped. Four, if you count Chamo-kun.

"Lee… you know about magic?"

"What? Of course I do! If you were a mage, the principal would've informed you about why I'm here. Or… did it slip the old geezers mind?"

"I think he forgot. I was never told anything."

"Well, then you and I will go talk to him about it after class."

"Alright then."

Asuna glanced at her watch. "Speaking of class, WE'RE STILL LATE!!!"

All of them turned and ran helter-skelter for the classroom.

After class, in the principal's room 

Turning towards them, the principal folded his hands and leaned back in his chair. With a grim expression, he addressed them solemnly.

"I apologize for not telling you about Lee earlier, Negi, but at the time, I felt it best that the real reason for Lee's coming here remain in the dark."

"And you forgot." Lee chipped in.

"And I forgot."

Negi squirmed impatiently. "Yes, yes, but why _did_ he come here?"

The principal leaned forward in his chair and fixed Negi with an authoritative look. "Very well. As his teacher, you deserve to know. Lee was sent to us-"

Lee cut in. "If you don't mind, Principal, I'd rather tell him myself."

"Very well."

Turning to Negi, Lee folded his hands in his lap and began. "I was sent here to Mahora academy to investigate a covert operation in the magic world responsible for much strife and chaos all over the world. I won't reveal the name of the organization, for that would only put you in danger. However, I can tell you that they are extremely dangerous, and it was only after a lot of investigation did they find where the main base to be."

Gulping, Negi was wide-eyed. "And where is the main base."

Fixing Negi with a piercing look, Lee slowly said, "Here. Or in the immediate area; we believe that the leader of the group is in disguise somewhere in the area for the purpose of using the World Tree to enhance his abilities and further his own ends."

"And what are the goals of this organization?"

"We don't know. We barely know anything about them, other than being able to identify the mark of their work."

"So you were sent to try and find out if they truly are here?"

"That is correct."

"And are they?"

Lee paused a moment, and looked away. Negi thought, _This is a far cry from the spaced out Lee I usually see in class. He looks so serious it's scary._

Finally, Lee sighed and turned back to look at Negi again. "Yes. They are here; I've found certain evidence of their work."

Negi's jaw dropped for the second time that day.

The principal looked troubled. His voice was grave as he addressed Lee. "You're sure."

Lee turned to face the principal.

"Yes. I'm sorry, Principal, but it's true; your students are having nightmares."

Later on… 

Glad to be free of the oppresive mood in the office, Lee and Negi walked towards the dorm.

"Hey, Lee!"

Turning around, Lee saw Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Ku Fei and Kaede from his class coming towards them.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"We were gonna go buy Takahata-sensei a present, wanna come?"

At this remark, Negi clapped a hand to his forehead. "I almost forgot! Yeah, you should come along, Lee!"

Not really having anything else to do, Lee agreed.

And he didn't regret it. Before he'd always just retreated to his dorm room, or gone for walks. However, he really enjoyed going out and just having fun with people. It felt good to stop thinking about his mission and just have fun for once.

For the first time since the start of his mission, he let himself truly enjoy being in the company of friends.

That night… "Happy Birthday, Takahata-sensei!" They all grinned and held out his birthday cake. Looking very surprised, Takahata blew out the candles and the cake was passed around. 

Looking very much the lady that night, Asuna walked up to Takahata and blushed, "Um… Takahata-sensei, this is for you."

Takahata grinned and thanked her. Upon unwrapping it he discovered a picture of his old class, back when they were 1-A of Mahora middle school.

"Wow, it's a picture of all of you from the old class! Thanks, all of you!"

The party continued on until the clock struck ten. Knowing they still had school tomorrow, they departed back to their dorms. Lee walked with the girl's back to their dorm before turning to go to his own. He was too preoccupied with waving at his new friends though, to pay attention with where he was walking. Walking around a corner, he turned his head back to face forward a split second to late.

WHOMP!!! 

Snapping his head to look in front of him, he beheld a diminutive figure with white hair having been knocked on her rear by him walking around the corner without looking.

It was Zazie.

Oh, crap! Again!?!? "I'm so sorry, Zazie-san! Can I help you up?" Zazie, however, got up without any help, and brushed the dust off her skirt. 

"No thank you. I'm quite alright without your assistance."

Again, there was the tone in her voice that cut deep. The empty, cold disinterest. As she turned away, Lee shook his head and violently walked away.

Is it too much to ask to even be friends with the girl!?!? XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 

There it is. The next chapter will be the one where things get moving… where, I'm not telling. :P

Ja ne


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer – I don't own negima, or any other character I will be using 

Author's note – I had a helluva a time uploading chapter 3. It kept saying, "error: please report to the support team." For a straight week. It was painful. Well, it's finally uploaded now, thank goodness, so on with the show!

TzuiAssassian – Ha! New chapter in 3 or so days! How do you like them apples. (Pretty well, I expect lol) I'm glad I could get this up fast for you.

Daughter of ether – glad you liked it. Honestly, that was my least planned out chapter, so cool.

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Zazie woke up with a gasp. Trying to catch her breath, she wiped some moisture from her eyes as she panted. Today's nightmare was even more vivid than the last. Getting out of bed, she looked around and found that Mana was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, yeah, it's Saturday. She must already be out at the shrine."

Walking to the window, she let her bird in. It perched upon her head and let out a chirp in greeting. Letting out a small giggle, Zazie patted it on the head.

"Hello to you too."

Aside from Mana, this was the only friend she had. The birds she fed were fond of her, but only because she brought them food every day. The bond she had with this bird was special.

Turning from the window, Zazie went to go get dressed to prepare for the day.

_Elsewhere_

Lee leaped out of bed with a glint in his eye and a wild yell.

"Yes! It's SATURDAY!!!" Getting dressed at top speed, still yelling like a maniac, he barely noticed the pebble that rattled his window.

"Hey, sleepyhead! You up yet?"

Hopping to the window because he was only halfway done putting on his pants, he saw Asuna, Negi, Konoka, Setsuna, and the rest of the gang out on the lawn. He finished putting on his pants and opened the window.

"Yeah, I'm up! What's up?"

"Wanna come hang out with us?" Asuna yelled up.

"Sure, just give me a sec!"

Exactly one second later, how nobody knows, Lee appeared at the door to the boys dorm, dressed in what he wore the day of his arrival.

"Where are we going?" He asked. Asuna and the others were already walking away, though. Catching up, he repeated his question. "Hey, where are we going."

Asuna shrugged. "Who care's? It's Saturday, we'll go wherever we want!"

"Makes sense to me." Lee replied. And off they went.

It ended up just being a walk around kind of day. Negi and the others showed Lee around the campus more, periodically stopping to enter some shop or another to satisfy the girls. Lee developed a moderately accurate mental map of the campus during the walk, something he didn't take for granted.

_It's nice to know where everything is, I'm really tired of getting lost, hehe._

Of particular interest to Lee was the area around the world tree. When they got to the plaza, he went to the tree and placed both hands on the trunk and frowned in deep concentration.

Coming up behind him, Asuna asked, "Whatcha doing, Lee?"

Taking his hands of the trunk, Lee sighed and looked up at the branches. "Nothing."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with that mission you're on, would it?"

"What?!?! How would you know about that!" Lee jumped and turned to face her.

"Negi told me, along with the others here. We're all his partners so we know about the magical world already."

Sighing, Lee turned back around to face the world tree. "Yeah, it does have to do with my mission."

Overhearing their conversation, Negi walked over to them. "What does the world tree have to do with your mission, Lee?"

Placing a hand on the tree, Lee spoke without turning to face them. "It's being tainted. Whoever the leader is, he's using the world tree to amplify his own power.

Negi put his hand on the tree. "You're right, I can feel darkness growing. Have you found any leads yet so we can stop them?"

Letting out a breath of frustration, Lee sighed. "No. And the nightmares are getting worse."

_Zazie's POV_

The sun was setting, and Zazie sat down on the bench in the empty world tree plaza. Slitting open a new bag of birdseed with her finger, she threw some out on the ground. Giggling, she watched the birds fight over the seed, pecking at the ground and each other. Her bird was among them, hungry even though he'd already been fed. Birds were like that, she supposed.

Soon enough, though, the seed was almost gone once again. Only about a small handful was left. Most of the birds had already left, except for a few and Zazie's own. Eventually even the stragglers left, and Zazie and her bird were alone at the plaza.

"Come on, there's barely any left. We have to get back." Zazie said, holding out here hand. Chirping, the bird pecked up the few remaining seeds and then hopped towards Zazie's outstretched hand.

All of a sudden, a shriek split the air. Snapping her head to the right, she saw a falcon diving towards her, talons outstretched. No wait, not at her. At her bird. _Her _bird.

"Looking back to her bird, Zazie yelled, "Come on, bird! Hurry up!" Cocking its head to the side in confusion, it stopped and looked at her.

"Come ON!!!"

Too late.

The falcon snatched Zazie's bird right off the ground, leaving nothing behind but a feather and a few drops of blood.

Clapping her hands to her mouth, Zazie's eyes filled up with tears. All the special memories she's had with that bird flashed through her mind in the space of a few, short seconds.

A few seconds to remember a lifetime.

"Zazie?"

Turning her head, she saw Lee behind her looking at her with a concerned expression. Kneeling down, Lee asked, "Zazie, are you ok? What happened?"

Unable to form a sentence, it was all she could to gasp out, "My…bird…falcon…died…" before she collapsed into Lee's arms and cried into his chest.

_Lee's POV_

After all his friends had gone back to the dorm, Lee went to go take one last check on the world tree before going back to his own dorm. However, when he got there, He saw none other than Zazie on her knee's with her hands over her face, sobbing.

"Zazie?"

She turned around, and he saw tears in her eyes. The sight nearly broke his heart.

"Zazie, are you ok? What happened?"

She panted and sobbed, and finally managed to gasp out, "My…bird…falcon…died…" before she collapsed into his arms and buried her face into his chest.

His mind racing, and somewhat scrambled by the fact that a very cute girl he liked had collapsed into his arms, he raced to think of something to cheer her up.

_What to do, what to do! I could get her a new bird… no, she would just get reminded of her old bird… damn, WHAT DO I DO!!!_

_Wait… that's it!_

Checking the position of the sun to determine the time, he consulted his mental map of the campus.

Damn… not much time 

_I'll just have to hurry._

Prying Zazie from him, he looked at her tear-filled eyes, strengthening his resolve. "I'll be right back Zazie. You stay here and wait for me. Please?"

Still choked up, Zazie could only nod.

"Good. I'll be right back."

And then he was off, sprinting at full speed. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the sun dipping towards the horizon.

Damn, I'm not gonna make it! 

_Unless I use THAT._

_But is it worth it just for a girl?_

He remembered the sight of Zazie, cold stoic Zazie, broken down into tears.

_Hell yes it is._

_20 percent should do. Don't want to kill myself_

And the suddenly Lee increased his speed past a full sprint, until he was running more than twice as fast as before.

_Good. Now I'll make it with time to spare._

_Zazie's POV_

Sobbing and crying Zazie wondered why Lee ran off so fast. Pulling herself up until she was sitting on the bench again, she buried her face in her hands and just cried until she felt like she couldn't anymore.

An hour later, she heard the sound of Lee running back. He carried a cage in his hand, which he was careful to keep steady despite his speed.

"Good! I'm glad you waited, Zazie."

Wiping tears from her eyes, she looked at him curiously. "What's that?"

"Oh, you mean this cage?"

"Of course I mean that cage!"

Laughing to himself, Lee set the cage down and opened the door. "Zazie, I'd like you to meet a new friend."

Zazie got down on her knees and bent to see what was inside the cage.

It was a kitten, so small it was barely larger than her foot. It was pure white except for a small streak of black down one eye and a small dot of black under the other. (Like Zazie's tattoo's)

Reaching out a hand, Zazie beckoned to it. It came out of its cage and sniffed her hand. Satisfied that this person didn't smell like an enemy, it started licking her hand. Zazie giggled, letting her first smile come to her lips after her bird's death.

Gathering the kitten up in her arms, she hugged it to herself. More tears formed in her eyes, but these were tears of happiness. The kitten crawled out of her arms and up onto her shoulders. It rubbed itself against her, purring ever so softly. Zazie giggled again, and looked up at Lee, who'd been looking at her apprehensively.

"Do you like him?" He asked.

In answer she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Somewhat surprised, (again), he tentatively put his arms back around her.

"Thank you so much. No one has ever done something like that for me." Zazie said.

Shrugging a little self-consciously, Lee said, "First time for everything."

Giggling, Zazie pulled away and smiled at him. "Thanks."

Smiling back, Lee bowed, "Anytime."

_That Night…_

Mana came back from the shrine to find Zazie curled up on her bed playing with her new pet.

"Where'd you get the cat from?"

Giggling, Zazie watched the kitten sleep. "From a friend."

Eyeing her suspiciously, Mana said, "From a friend, huh? Does this friend have a name?"

Turning to face Mana, Zazie smiled. "Yeah, it's Lee."

"That idiot?"

"Mana! He's _not _an idiot. He's very nice, in fact."

Smiling, Mana commented, "Oh, I see. So it's like that, huh?"

Blushing furiously, Zazie threw a pillow at her friend.

"Shut up, Mana!"

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My index fingers are worn out. I gotta stop hunt and peck typing.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer - I don't own negima or any other character in this story except Lee.

Author's note – Wow. Finals killed my soul. I'm really sorry it took me a freaking month to update, I should be returning to a faster schedule now that school's out.

(I'm really sorry)

TzuiAssassin – Lee got her a kitten, not a bird : ).

Daughter of ether – Zazie's mature enough to deal with the loss and move on, it just took a little something to trigger it. Like the kitten.

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Lee got up on Monday in a daze.

_Did that really happen? Did I really manage not to make a fool out myself? Am I really Zazie's friend now?_

All he really knew was that his head hurt. Sighing, he put on his uniform and began walking to school.

Halfway there, he saw none other than Zazie, with a white kitten on her shoulder. Mana was with her too.

_Woah, I guess it really did happen._

When Zazie spotted Lee, she waved and let a small smile slip. She walked over to Lee, saying "Hi, Lee. I want to thank you again for what you did for me."

Blushing, Lee turned away. "You're welcome."

Zazie just smiled.

Mana, watching from beside Zazie, promoted Lee from being an idiot to being a moron, as anyone who could make Zazie smile and talk was a good guy in her books.

_At school…_ Negi walked over to his desk and beheld his class. He had some big news for them today. "Good morning class. I trust you all enjoyed your weekends?" There was a general murmur of assent. Smiling Negi started walking through the rows of desks, talking as he went.

"I have some big news for you all today. In honor of the American tradition, we will be celebrating the winter break with a western style school dance!"

An outbreak of shocked muttering greeted this statement. Negi laughed at their trepidation.

"This is not a required attendance event, but it is highly encouraged that you go. We will have music, and western style dresses and suits will be worn. It will be held in two weeks in the school's gym."

Reaching his desk again, he turned and regarded them all once more. Then, he made the announcement they had been waiting for.

"You may bring a date if you so desire."

Immediately, almost all the girls in the class broke out into a fit of giggles, which in turn gave way to excited whispering about who they all wanted to be taken by.

Zazie, usually apathetic about such happenings, could not help but wonder what such a dance would be like. However, being very shy, she didn't plan on going, so she dismissed the thought.

Lee, however, was a different story. He could almost feel his heart pounding, and a veritable waterfall of thoughts cascaded through his head.

_Yes! A dance! I could ask Zazie! But wait… would she go with me? Yes? No? aaaggghhh… and how to ask her? Do I bring flowers when I do it? Candy? Write it in 20 foot high letters of fire in front of the school? Wait, that last one's just insane. My head hurts…_

He hardly heard the bell ring. Asuna had to smack his head just to get his attention.

"Lee, hurry up! You'll be late for your next class."

Blinking, Lee shook of the ghosts of the might-be.

"Yeah, thanks."

Grabbing his bag, he slammed a mental door on such thoughts until later.

_One week later…_

Sitting in the common room of the boy's dorm, Lee buried his head in his hands. All around him, guys were talking about whom they were taking to the dance. 

"I'm taking Kaede!" Some guy named Sasuke boasted. Cheers went up and some guys cat-called in the back.

Another guy, called Train Heartnet, put a foot on the table and yelled, "Well, I'm taking Mana!" More cheers.

It just got louder and louder until Lee just couldn't stand it anymore. He got up and stalked out of the room.

The cool, crisp winter air refreshed him. Sighing, he walked towards the world tree, a place that always calmed him despite its demonic taint, which grew daily.

Upon reaching the plaza, he turned and leaned against the world tree, letting his stress and fears just flow away in the presence of the monolithic entity. Sitting down, he wrapped his arms around his knee's and stewed.

Try as he might, he either couldn't come up with the courage to ask Zazie, or she was with Mana when he did. He hadn't asked anyone to help, because his crush had thus far been a secret, but he was close to breaking down and asking Asuna, or Ku Fei, or even Mana to help.

Little did he know that his crush was blatantly obvious to everyone except Zazie, an ironic and insignificant fact not important here.

Slamming his fist against the cold stone, he sighed and got up. Brushing dust of the back of his pants and turned to go, when he nearly ran into none other than Zazie herself.

Despite being caught off guard, and ignoring the pounding of his chest, he kept his wits about him enough that this time he dodged out of her way before he crashed into her.

Startled, Zazie turned to look at him. "Lee?"

_Elsewhere and earlier…_

In the girl's baths, a similar event had taken place. All around Zazie, girls were giggling over the past week as they scrubbed.

"Who asked you, Ku?"

"Some guy named Ranma Saotome. He was pretty cute though, so I said yes!" The girls broke out into giggles.

"Oh, did you hear? Sestsuna has a date to, some guy name Kenji Himura." Gasps broke out.

And so it went, the giggles, confessions and gossip flying freely until on eof them spotted Zazie off by herself.

"Hey Zazie, who asked you?"

Somewhat surprised, Zazie looke dup, and then turned away. "…No one."

"Awww, that's so sad!" But no sooner had she said that than she turned back to her friends. Sighing, Zazie dried herself off, and put on a jacket to take a walk.

She wondered why everyone was in such a fuss over something as simple as a dance. After all, it was only one night, and you could listen to music anytime.

Still, I wonder who I would want to go with? 

She was so preoccupied that she nearly ran into someone, who fortunately jumped out of the way in time.

Turning around, she let ou a small gasp. "Lee?"

Lee blushed. "Hey, Zazie. What's up?"

Shrugging, she replied. "Nothing much."

Lee, blushing like a madman said, "Yeah, me too. Well, while we're out here, you want ot walk together." Zazie nodded her assent.

She had been surprised by him at first, but as they walked together, her thoughts began to fall in line.

_He came right as I finished thinking about who I'd want to take me, as if in answer to my thoughts. And he IS one of the only guys I talk to regularly. Hmmm.._

Then, smiling she remembered.

_And he got me my kitten_

Their conversation was fun, too. Zazie found herself talking more than she had in years. Talking with Lee was just so _easy._ It was like talking with Mana except… different, somehow.

Soon enough, though, it got dark. Sighing, she turned to Lee and said, "I'm sorry, but I had beeter get back before they lock the dorms."

Lee nodded, "Yeah, me too."

They stood and looked at each other for a moment, but then Zazie turned away, blushing slightly.

"Wait!"

Turning, she saw Lee with a face as red as a tomato, with a hand outstreched.

"Zazie, will you… will you…" he stammered.

A small bud of hope grew in her chest. Hope for what, she couldn't say. She'd never felt like this before. "Yes?"

Lee finally controlled himself. "Will you go to the Winter dance with me?"

Smiling, Zazie nodded, "Yes!"

A grin spread over Lee's face. "Cool. I'll see you there, then."

Still smiling, Zazie nodded again. "Yes!"

Lee's POV

_I did it. I finally did it. YES!!!!_

He nearly ran all the way back to the dorm. Running up the stairs, he collapsed in bed with a smile on his face.

I_ did it. I did it. I did it…_

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The second of my major plot events. Next chapter is the dance! Whoooooo!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer – I don't own negima, or any of the songs I mention 

Author's note – with any luck, this'll be finished by July 15th, which is when my life officially ends. If I don't finish by then expect sporadic updates. REALLY sporadic.

TzuiAssassin – Yep that's him all right. And thanks for forgiving me for the long update period

Daughter of ether – Bread sculpture… oO. haha, that's awesome. And I'm glad I could inspire warm fuzziness.

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_This thing itches_

Lee tugged at his collar, trying desperately to get some air into his lungs. At least the suit coat kept out a lot of the cold, as well as being semi-wind proof.

_Still though, whose idea was it to require ties!_

Lee tugged at the end of it, to straighten it out. He also fiddled with the knot a little, trying to get it right.

_Stupid tie, why did they make it so complicated to tie?_

Sighing, Lee let his hands drop back down to his sides. He inhaled deeply, letting the clean winter air fill his lungs. The big day had finally come. To tell the truth though, he wished it hadn't. He was getting more nervous by the second. Impatiently he glanced at his watch.

_6 o'clock…Dance begins at 7:30, and we're having dinner at 6:15… where is she?_

As if summoned by his thoughts she rounded the corner just then.

And Lee's jaw dropped.

_Zazie's POV_

"Hurry up, Mana!"

"Ok, ok, hold your horses. I'm almost done. Surely your precious Lee can wait a few minutes."

Zazie blushed and looked down. Mana finished fastening an elegant silver chain with a small diamond on the end around her neck.

"Ok, finished!"

Zazie stood up and walked over to the full-length mirror by the closet. She wore a simple white dress with thin straps that went down to her feet. She also had on a pair of white low heels, and Mana had insisted she borrow the necklace. She also had on small diamond earrings, and a silver crystal bracelet on each wrist.

Everyone in the dorm had pitched in on lending her the jewelry, because she had none of her own, and they all wanted her to look her best for her date. Secretly they were glad that someone had finally gotten Zazie out of her shell.

Zazie studied her reflection closely. "Are you sure it isn't to much?"

Mana smiled, "Zazie, if anything you need more. However, simple works very well on you. You look fabulous."

Leaning in, she whispered, "I'm sure Lee would agree." Which set Zazie to blushing again. Kaede poked her head in the door. "Mana, Zazie, time."

"Ok, be there in a sec." Mana said. "Come on, Zazie." However, she saw a stricken expression on the shorter girl's face. "What's wrong?"

Zazie was trembling by then. "…I-I've never done something like this before…what if he doesn't show up? What if he doesn't like my dress? What if-"

Mana cut her off. "If he makes this evening anything less than perfect for you, I'll simply have to rip his head off." That made Zazie giggle. She gave her kitten a pat on the head, and squared her shoulders.

"All right, lets go."

They met up with the other girls in the group, and together they all went off to the world tree to meet the dates. As they rounded the corner, Zazie's heart leapt to her throat Out of all the guys there. She could only see Lee, looking quite dashing in a white Suit with a black tie…and an expression of surprise plastered on his face.

They got to where the dates had grouped and Zazie suddenly found herself standing right in front of him. Lee's jaw worked a couple of times, and then he managed to gasp out,

"-wow, Zazie… You look absolutely beautiful." And then he smiled an embarrassed, crooked smile.

And all of sudden everything was all right.

_Lee's POV_

He couldn't speak. Or think. Forming a coherent thought was definitely a challenge at this moment. The only thing he could say was, "W-wow, Zazie… You look absolutely beautiful " And then he let an embarrassed smile come on, while inwardly he cringed.

_Crap! That was way to forward, I should know better!_

Inexplicably, though, (to him at least) Zazie was smiling.

"Thanks. You look good too." Still embarrassed, Lee scratched his head, mumbling a small thanks.

"Alright, everyone, time to get going. We need to hurry if we're going to make our reservations." Mana called out. Drawing upon deep reserves of calm, Lee offered his arm to Zazie, who smiled as wide as she ever had and took it.

Dinner was nice. Lee still hadn't gotten control of his mind yet, but whatever gaps he left in the conversation were cheerfully filled by Zazie, who, as has been already been mentioned, was already in complete control and was more than a little amused by Lee's continuing lapses in coherent-ness.

Lee snapped to it long enough to look at his watch and announce, "Hey, it's kind of time to go…5 minutes ago."

This induced a veritable storm of calling for bills and gathering coats. When the bill for Zazie's meal was put in front of her, Lee made a grab for it. "I should get that-"

"No, let me-" and she grabbed for it to. For an instant their hands touched. But then Lee snatched the bill up, paid it, and left a generous tip. He turned to her and smiled.

"Ha." Zazie crossed her arms and frowned petulantly. The look was so funny, that somehow, nervous as he was, he burst out laughing. Once he had recovered, he was surprised to find himself perfectly at ease.

"Well, shall we go?" He asked.

Smiling, Zazie uncrossed her arms and nodded. "Of course."

_At the dance…_

Once they had taken of their jackets, and the girls their shoes, and were actually ON the dance floor, however, all the old unease came back. It seemed the same for Zazie, however, as she had his arm in a death group and looked very apprehensive of the swarming mass of people on the gym floor.

Kaede and Ku fei were already out dancing. Mana lingered a while longer.

"It's not that bad, Zazie. After all, you see these people everyday! The only difference is now they're all in one place, and cramped together." The music wasn't helping either. The loud, thudding rock was not what any of them would have preferred.

Suddenly, though, the ambiance of the room changed. The bright, flashing disco ball dulled, and soon only glowed a little. A slow song came on. Everywhere, dates and couples were all of a sudden close together, swaying slightly in time to the music.

Mana and her date got up, moving towards the press of people. When she passed Lee's chair, she kicked it violently.

"Dance with the girl!" She hissed. Lee snapped up straight into his chair. He looked over at Zazie, who was look slightly sad at watching all those couples holding each other.

His heart softened at the sight. He got up and went over to her. Offering her his hand, he asked,

"May I have the honor of having this dance with you?"

Slightly surprised, Zazie shyly accepted.

Lee led her out onto the dance floor until they found a mildly clear space. Then, placing his hands on Zazie's waist, (blushing violently as she did so), he began to dance.

Zazie placed her hands on his shoulders and shyly looked up into his eyes. Lee smiled down at her, although his face was as red as a tomato. Giggling, she felt her worries wash away. She just let herself enjoy the moment, rocking gently with Lee holding her.

As the music went on, the drifted closer together until Zazie was resting her head on his chest, and Lee's head was laying on Zazie's, and his arms were wrapped around her, holding her like he would never let go.

"Zazie?" Lee asked. Zazie took her head of his chest and looked up. "Yes?"

"I was wondering… you know… if maybe… you wanted to go out with me sometime?"

Smiling softly, Zazie nodded. "Of course, Lee." Gently, Lee pulled her close again, and together they stayed until the song ended. Wandering back over to the table, they were soon joined by the other couples in their group.

Mana looked around and saw people leaving. "You guys want to go?" All around the table, heads nodded in agreement.

As they were walking out of the building, somehow, inexplicably, by the sheerest of coincidences, Lee's hand found its way into Zazie's, and intertwined his fingers with hers. Smiling, Zazie sighed contentedly.

"Oh, look, its snowing." Sure enough, fat white flakes were coming down. Removing his hand from Zazie's, Lee took of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

Zazie looked up, "No, Lee, it's alright, I don't want you to be cold." Lee smiled.

"I have twice as many layers on than you. I'll be fine." Sighing, Zazie just grabbed his hand again and the two continued on.

At the dorm, they turned to each other as the other couples went inside. Zazie was the first to broach the silence.

"Thanks, Lee. I had an amazing time tonight." Lee grinned.

"Me too."

Suddenly, Lee was leaning towards her before he had really thought about what he was doing. Surprisingly enough, Zazie found herself doing the same.

Time seemed to slow. Lee could just sense everything that made the moment right; the full moon shining on them, the soft snow around them, the swooshing noise from above-

_Huh?_

CRASH!!!

And all of sudden Lee found himself on his rear with the remains of a flowerpot strewn around him.

Zazie couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Lee peeking out at her from under layers of dirt. After helping him up, she said a soft goodbye and ran inside. Lee watched her go, and then brushed dirt off of his clothes.

_Dang._

From the window above, Mana grinned evilly. She was glad Zazie had gotten a boyfriend, but…she didn't want the boy to go that far. At least not that fast, anyway.

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It is now officially 1:30 AM. I better get some good reviews **glare**

ja ne


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima. At all. :P 

Author's note – I always seem to get in a funk when I finish an arc. Oh well, this is the last arc any way's. It's just that this arc is about as long, if not longer, than all 6 previous chapters combined. And also, since only 30 or so of you have stuck it out so far, I'd like some positive reinforcement that my story isn't a gigantic waste of time for you all. (lol)

Tikigod784 – Yeah, new reviewer! And trust me, there's going to be TONS of action. How well written it will be is not guaranteed.

Tzuiassassian – That idea of yours is really good; maybe when I've finished I'll edit it in as a different ending to the chapter.

Daughter of ether – Yup, it was a headache for him the next day. And exams are over, finally, so I'll be able to update pretty regularly 'til July 16th or so.

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Lee had to admit, taking the plunge pays off in spades if it works. The last few months had been some of the best of his life. He was on cloud ten since the moment Zazie agreed to go out with him, and it never really wore off.

They had used almost every excuse in the book to get out together. They had gone to the movies, to amusement parks, to café's, and on one memorable occasion, a karaoke bar.

_Shoulda remembered that I can't sing. I was surprised at Zazie, though. Her voice was so soft, but it was really nice-sounding too._

Basically, life was good. Actually it was freaking awesome.

At least, until about a week ago.

Right around then, Zazie seemed to all of a sudden go back into her shell of indifference. They still went out together, but she wasn't as lively as she usually was around him. He was sure he hadn't offended her, so he just couldn't make sense of it.

_I wish I knew what was wrong, so I could comfort her, but she won't tell me… __**sigh**__ women._

_Zazie's POV, one week earlier_

Negi walked before the class and beamed.

"Class, I am glad to announce that the famed Mahora school festival is only one week away!" Cheers erupted around the room, even from Lee, who barely even knew what was going on. Zazie however, all of a sudden felt her insides go cold.

_Strange… I usually look forward to the festival. It's the only time the Nightmare Circus gets to perform. Why do I feel so sad, though?_

As a result, over the past week she had been somewhat… cold, to Lee. She couldn't help it. The closer they got to the festival, the more she felt like hiding in her room with her kitten.

Oblivious to the way she was making Lee feel, she retreated back into her protective, indifferent shell.

Mana also worried about her during this time, and told Lee as much. Together, they made plans for the second day to cheer Zazie up. But that is a story for later on.

And then the day came.

_Lee's POV_

"Yes!!! Finally, the festival!" Asuna was yelling, whooping and screaming to anyone in a five-mile radius.

"Geez, calm down, Asuna." Lee covered his ears with one hand. The other arm was currently in a death grip, courtesy of Zazie, who was shivering more than Lee had ever seen.

All of a sudden, Koutaro ran past, yelling, "Hey, Negi, hurry up! The martial arts tournament registration is open, and the prelims are in an hour!" Negi yelped and ran after him.

"An hour!?!?"

"Yep, they're trying to pack the entire tournament except for the finals into one day!"

Lee perked up. "Hey, a tournament! Maybe I should give it a try… what do you think, Zazie? I'll only enter if you agree to cheer for me!"

Managing a small smile, Zazie nodded slightly. "Sure, I'll cheer for you."

Emboldened by her comment, he said, "Come on, then!" and proceeded to drag her over to where the tournament was being held.

Quickly entering his name, he looked to Zazie for encouragement. Summoning deep reserves of strength within her, Zazie smiled again, and replied cheerily, "I'm sure you'll do great."

Lee smiled wide enough to nearly take in his ears, and put an arm around her shoulders. Zazie felt really guilty, for a second, for her inability to be really happy, but she couldn't shake the cold felling out of her chest.

One hour later, they went back to the tournament grounds. An announcer in an impeccable suit walked onto stage with a microphone in his hand.

"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mahora martial arts tournament!"

And there was much cheering.

"Alright, you know the drill! There will be 16 prelims free-for-alls, and the last one standing in each make it into the tournament!"

And there was more cheering.

"If the contestants would please note in which prelims battle they are placed from this chart behind me, and then proceed to your respective areas. The melee will begin in ten minutes."

Lee scanned the board. "Ring 5, huh. Whelp, looks like it's almost time. Better get going."

"Wait!" Zazie grabbed his arm. He turned to regard her, confused.

"Good luck. And be careful." Smiling, Lee pulled her into his arms for a hug, and then kissed her forehead and ran off.

Zazie went to go over to the stands to watch.

_Lee's POV_

Lee found himself standing in the middle of a ring filled with huge, burly guys, small, quick guys… and him.

_Huh. Didn't know this was gonna be so big_.

The announcer walked on stage and held up his hand.

"Ready… GO!"

Chaos ensued.

Rather than expend his energy needlessly, Lee just dodged around the fights breaking out all around him. (Oh, he's wearing White tennis shoes, blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a white short sleeved collared shirt unbuttoned over it. I don't know why that's important, but oh well.)

While dodging the stray punch here and there, he observed his opponents.

_Huh. There are a lot of them, but… not too much skill. We'll see who rises out of that lot, and then I'll deal with him._

Soon enough, there was only him and one other; a big, bear of a man with arms the size of Lee's waist. Seeing only one opponent between him and entry into the tournament, he roared and charged.

Lee smirked.

_Zazie's POV_

She was more than a little confused at why Lee wasn't fighting like the rest, until it occurred to her that he might be waiting until there were less people to fight.

_That's smart of him. I wonder what he'll do when he does have to fight, though._

She got her answer.

When the side-brawls were over, the only one left besides Lee was a gigantic man in a black vest. He spotted Lee and charged with a deep roar ripping from his throat.

Zazie covered her eyes in horror.

_He'll be crushed to a pulp! Lee you idiot, why'd you have to do this? And why did I let him?_

She peeked out from in between her fingers, though.

Just in time to see the explosion of movement that followed.

Right when the man was upon him, Lee burst into action. Jumping into a handstand, he twisted his waist and kicked the guy across the face with his lead foot, slowing his charge.

Then, using his momentum and the fast motion of his hands, he pulled a complete circle while still hand standing and swung low, kicking out and taking out the man's legs.

Since he had kicked out, though, the man was falling forward, Lee took full advantage of the opening, and swung up to complete another full rotation before pushing off the ground and twisting in midair to land a double kick right on the big man's torso.

The force of that kick sent the man off the edge of the ring, from whence he did not rise again, making Lee the winner.

The entire sequence, from starting movement to finishing contact, took less than a second and a half.

_Wow._

Even the announcer was shocked. Clamping his jaw shut, he stammered, "L-lee is the winner!"

Smirking, Lee walked out of the arena.

Zazie ran over to him. "Lee, that was amazing!"

Lee smiled. "Thanks."

Together, they walked over to where the match-ups were announced. Lee scanned the bracket.

"Hmmm… I'm up against Ku Fei next. Looks like I might have to take it up a notch."

"You mean that wasn't your best."

"Nope, far from it. I expect you'll see what I mean. For now, lets just go get some food, 'k?"

Zazie giggled. "Sure."

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Note – I will only be writing Lee's matches, sorry. And also, no, they haven't REALLKY kissed, like on the lips, yet. And I realize that Zazie was acting happier at the end, but she was just amazed by Lee.

Ja ne


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's note – As much as I hated to post a new chapter before Daughter of ether reviewed, I just was ready to write. Oh, and the tournament fights are like this

Round 1: lee vs. ku fei. Round 2: Kaede vs. random guy. Round 3: Takahata vs. random guy. Round 4: koutaro vs. random guy. Round 5: Mana vs. random guy. Round 6: Ranma vs. random guy Round 7: asuna vs. random guy. Round 8: Negi vs. random guy

Random guy means it doesn't matter. Also, this chapter and the next two are mostly just showing off Lee's fighting ability.

Tikigod784 – Just for you reviewing, I switched it, so instead of setsuna in round 3 it's Takahata. I'll probably have to downplay his strength, though. I don't like the idea of him letting Lee win.

TzuiAssassian – Thanks for the vote of confidence. I listed the 16 for you, too.

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As Lee got ready for his match against Ku, Zazie took her seat in the stands. All of a sudden, a twinge of pain shot through her, originating right where Lee had kissed her earlier. She rubbed her head in sympathy.

_Ugh. I hate getting headaches…_

This headache felt different, though. It was as though something inside her head was trying to contact her, but couldn't make itself be heard. The pounding was making her dizzy.

_Pull it together, Zazie, you don't want Lee to see you hunched over in pain while he's fighting, it'll just distract him._

Steeling her resolve, she sat up straight, took her hand away from her forehead, and looked straight ahead with clear eyes.

_Lee's POV_

As he entered the stands, the tumultuous applause broke over him like a wave. Shielding his ears until he got used to it, he searched the stands until he caught Zazie's eye. Smiling, he waved at her.

Zazie smiled back, and added her applause to the rest.

Striding to the center of the ring, Lee turned and faced his opponent, Ku.

_This might be a little tough… She won this tournament once, after all. Well, I'll just have to wing it._

Lee checked himself mentally, and was satisfied that he was perfectly comfortable in his clothes, physical and mental state. (Same clothes as before)

Ku Fei, for her part, was wearing what she wore every time she fought; a Chinese gi with a belt that doubled as a cloth spear. (I don't actually know what her clothes are called, I'm just making it up.)

The announcer strode onto his podium. He grabbed his microphone and held up his hand.

"Welcome, everyone to Round 1 of the Mahora Martial arts tournament!" More screaming and applause issued from the crowd.

"We have a great match up today. Former champion, Ku Fei, versus the newcomer Lee!" When Ku's name was announced, a small explosion took place, as opposed to the smattering of applause, mostly from Zazie, that Lee got.

The announcer turned to the combatants. "Ku Fei, are you ready?" Ku nodded her assent and dropped into a fighting stance.

"Lee, are you ready?" Lee nodded and also dropped into a comfortable stance.

The announcer held up his hand. "Ready….. GO!"

Ku Fei immediately closed the distance in what seemed a single step. Lee was suitably impressed.

_Wow, I didn't expect a Vital Step from someone her age. Really good form, too._

He didn't have any more time to think, though, for he was pressed fiercely by the rain of blows from Ku. She started off with a right handed karate chop, duly blocked by Lee, and came in low with a kick from the other side.

Lee shifted his weight so his shin would take the brunt, and then quick-stepped backwards a step to escape the follow-up roundhouse kick from her opposite leg. Ku stepped right in behind the kick and pressed hard, again.

Lee kept right up with her, though, blocking all of her blows without losing any more ground.

_Chinese Kenpo, huh. Well, I must admit, the continent always rose above the rest in power and grace. The style flows well, too. But there's one thing it just can't handle._

Lee had already noticed that Ku's attacks were steadily shifting his defenses way outside. Then, when there was a split second extra gap between attacks, he immediately bent over backward matrix-style to avoid the predictable elbow to the chest.

_Sheer improvisation, from one who can._

Up in the stands, Zazie's jaw dropped, along with many others at the display of fighting prowess.

He wasn't lying when he said that wasn't all he could do.

Meanwhile, back in the ring, Ku realized her error. The elbow strike was the finishing blow, and its failure had left her wide open.

Lee didn't waste the chance. Dropping his left hand to the ground, he twisted and came up high with his right leg in a reverse neck-chop. The sheer force behind the kick nearly knocked Ku out of the ring. As it was, it merely blew her into an undignified, not to mention painful, tumble across the hard rock of the ring.

Lee got back up to his feet and smirked.

"Come on, Ku. You and I both know that you absorbed the impact of most of that blow by jumping back."

Ku got up slowly and wiped blood from a cut on her lip.

"True." She dropped into a fighting stance again.

"I must admit, your stance bothered me when I first saw it. However, I didn't think much about it. But with that move you just pulled off, my suspicions were confirmed." Ku drew herself up and looked Lee square in the eye.

"You use the Libra style, don't you?" Lee smiled.

"Good job. You figured it out." He dropped into a fighting stance, still smiling.

"You knowing won't do you any good, though."

Ku smiled too. "We'll see."

They charged each other. The following exchange was almost faster than the eye could follow.

For those up in the stands, it was awe-inspiring. The combatants were moving so fast that it all seemed to melt together into one long attack.

Lee, for his part, was a little disappointed.

_So this is the strength of the former champ, huh? If this is the most she's got, I could end this now._

Or so he thought, up until Ku's cloth spear clipped his shoulder, sending him sprawling. He regained his feet quickly, though, and gave Ku a smile of respect.

Ku smiled too. " Your reaction time is faster than I expected. That should have been a full hit. I guess it's nothing left to be expected from a Libra master."

Lee grinned. "Thanks. You're pretty good, too. You caught me off guard mixing your cloth spear into your kenpo."

"Thank you. However, now that that chance is gone, I have to get serious." Ku concentrated her ki into her extremities, and shifted her cloth spear to a readier position.

Lee dropped into his stance. "Good."

Closing the gap with vital step, Ku lashed out with her right hand while her left shot out the cloth spear.

Lee turned so that both attacks missed, and dropped flat onto his back. Then, he kicked up with his legs, connecting squarely with Ku's midsection.

Ku recovered in midair, though, and managed to wrap Lee's leg in her cloth spear. Landing lightly, she yanked out Lee's leg and rushed in for the kill.

_She forgot what the Libra style is for. Her underestimation will cost her,_ Lee thought.

When his leg was yanked out, Lee compensated by dropping back onto his hands and his other leg, he kicked up when the slack loosened on the cloth spear, but Ku hadn't forgotten what the Libra style was for. Twisting, she dodged his leg, and jumped at the same time, ending with her foot aimed squarely for Lee's ribs.

Kicking out his left hand, he slammed his elbow into the hard stone, shifting himself out of the way. Ku immediately landed and twisted again, yanking Lee's leg and coming down in a hard heel kick.

Reacting fast, Lee felt the yank on his leg, and pulled his leg back, adding momentum so he could dodge the heel kick.

_Opening!_

Twisting, he pushed off with his palms hard enough to draw her spear taut. He pulled his leg in again, sending him flying towards Ku, fast enough she couldn't dodge.

CRACK!!!

His other foot slammed squarely into her collarbone, dropping her to the ground. Her head hit the ring floor as she fell, knocking her out cold.

The announcer, stunned by the fast-pace exchange, dazedly announced, "Lee is the winner!"

The audience exploded into cheering. Lee waved a bit, then stooped and picked up Ku, carrying her off too the medical station.

_Zazie's POV_

Rushing to the medical tent, she saw Lee exit.

"You were right, that other guy didn't bring out a quarter of what you showed there."

Lee smiled. "Would you believe I still have more left?" Zazie grinned.

"With you, I've learned anything is possible" lee regarded her warmly, aware of her double meaning, then scooped her up for a tender embrace.

Zazie looked at him curiously after they broke apart. "What did Ku mean when she was talking about the Libra style?"

Lee smiled. "That's the fighting style I use. You see, Libra is a constellation in the sky that looks like a set of scales. Those, like me, who use the Libra style use that to symbolize how we fight; with complete, perfect balance."

"Those moves you saw me pull off? They were only possible because at all times I knew exactly where my body was in relation to everything else, and how I could balance myself to perform my next attack."

"See, when your perfectly balanced, you can launch off in any direction at any pace. It makes it difficult for others to put us in a situation we can't counter or dodge from."

He then chuckled, and remarked, "I guess it also helps that my reaction time is 0.11 seconds, twice as fast as the human norm."

Zazie regarded him with awe. "Lee, you're amazing."

Lee smiled. "No, you are."

He took her hand in his, and they both strode off.

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Wow. Long chapter. Oh, all that fighting was actually ultra fast-paced, but I can't just write Blur! Shooom! Hithithihtit!!!! So I had to slow it down to describe it.

Review Please! **Puppy dog eyes**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima

Author's note – Here's a present for you guys before I go on vacation, so since there won't be any updates 'til Thursday or so, I thought I'd write this before I left.

Tikigod784 – Thanks for the compliment on the fight scene's, I hope I live up to the praise for the rest of this story. And I'll find some way to do that fight, don't fear.

TzuiAssassian – I don't have to put up their names, all I have to do is say that they were defeated. It works since I'm the one writing. Trust me, they don't matter, they're just placeholders, defeated at the earliest opportunity.

Baka purple – whooooo! New reviewer! Thanks for the compliments, too.

Daughter of ether – I got my info from eyeshield 21. And daaaaaaang, you react faster than I do, (I react at 0.17), kudos! And I have plans for the other fight scenes, although I do need to work it out so Lee wins, the only purpose this tournament plays is showing off different aspects of his fighting ability.

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"So, Kaede's my next opponent, huh? This should be interesting." Lee remarked, looking at the board.

"Who else won?" Zazie asked.

"Negi, Asuna, Mana, Ranma, Koutaro and Takamichi." Lee said.

"Death glasses Takahata? That should be a challenge." Lee nodded.

_How well I know that._

Shaking the thought from his head, he said, "Well, I have to focus on Kaede now. Judging by the caliber of Ku, Kaede's not going to be a cakewalk." Zazie nodded.

Lee looked at the nearby clock. "Whelp, it's nearly time. See you in the stands?"

"Of course." Smiling, Lee gave her a quick one-armed hug and then left for the ring.

Zazie walked over to the designated fighting area, running her temples as she did to try and relieve the pounding headache she had.

_Why do these things come at the worst times?_

Taking a seat, she shook her head worked to focus her eyes on the scene below.

Lee and Kaede came walking out, Kaede looking very mysterious in her chunin outfit, Lee looking like… well, Lee.

_Lee doesn't need to look mysterious or tough, though. He's already made it perfectly clear that wearing something like that would be redundant._

Zazie turned to look at Kaede again.

_But then again, Kaede is strong enough she doesn't need to either. Her outfit is only practical, not flashy or bold._

Zazie saw out of the corner of her eye the announcer walking onto stage. Standing, she dutifully applauded along with the rest.

_You can do it, Lee!_

_Lee's POV_

"Contestants, are you ready?" the announcer yelled. Lee nodded, and dropped into his stance. Kaede nodded too, but didn't even move a muscle from her calm, relaxed position.

_No stance, huh? That'll cost her._

The announcer raised his hand.

"Ready… Fight!"

Lee took the initiative this time, and quickly closed the distance. Right when he was on her, he feinted a left hook, but Kaede wasn't fooled. Lee was impressed, as he used the momentum from his feint to spin himself into a twisting front flip to kick down at Kaede's head.

Realizing too late that nothing was there.

_Damn!_

Kaede's foot caught him squarely in the back, sending him crashing down to the cold stone floor of the arena.

Up in the stands, Zazie gasped in worry.

Lee got up, a little slowly.

_Instant movement. Not bad. _

_But, I can do that too._

Lee vanished suddenly, and reappeared right in front of Kaede. He lashed out with a straight kick. Kaede, caught off guard by his technique, was still fast enough to jump into the air, dodging the kick. Making a hand sign, she split into four copies, each one landing on a different side of Lee.

Lee dropped his arms to his side and hunched his shoulders. "You can do shadow replication, too? I have to admit, you're better than I expected."

Kaede smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. However… You're still not good enough!" Lee used instant movement to reappear behind the original Kaede but, the other three had reacted fast enough that he was still surrounded, and from a much closer distance. Immediately, they launched into attack.

A fist came at him from behind. Lee, already crouching, dropped his center of balance even lower; swaying to the side and shooting out a wrist block to simultaneously dodge and block a low kick from another clone. Kaede herself flipped over him, grabbing him by the shoulders and fling him into the air.

Using his perfect balance, even while airborne, Lee righted himself in time to block a chop from a clone. Through sheer improvisation, he angled the block so it sent him back towards the ground. Anther clone was waiting for him, though.

Lee flipped so he was falling headfirst, and then twisted through the clone's high punch high kick combo. Landing lightly on his hands, he twisted into a helicopter like series of kicks, nearly breaking the clone's defenses until the arrival of the other three Kaede's forced him to abandon his offense.

Even when standing on his hands, Lee could still fight. Using his natural speed and reaction time. He quick stepped using his hands and swung his legs out to intercept all of her attacks.

As fast as he was, Lee couldn't keep up with four Kaede's. First, a low kick got in, then a chop to the midsection. Lee compensated so he wouldn't be unbalanced, shifting with the blows to absorb their impacts.

_Damn! She's nearly got me pinned! I have to think of something!_

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Zazie, yelling at him.

"Keep going Lee! You can do it!"

And then, he knew what to do.

The clones and Kaede worked him inside and out, finally aligning his defenses so they had the opening they wanted.

_That's right, girls. Take the bait!_

Kaede and her clones pulled of her signature shadow cross, a combination of ki and physical technique. However, when she turned to see the result of her attack, Lee had disappeared.

"Huh?" All of a sudden, she heard laughing from behind her. She turned and saw Lee balancing on the edge of the ring.

Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, Lee held his sides as he shook. "I must admit." He gasped out. "That's one for the record books. I mean, come one, have you ever heard of a guy pulling off instant movement with his _hands?_"

Kaede gasped. Lee finally stopped laughing and smiled, a glint in his eye.

"Shall we?"

All of a sudden, all four Kaede's were airborne, landing in a heap in the middle of the ring. The other three clones disappeared. She got up dazedly.

"Very nice movement. I couldn't even see it." Kaede commented, while secretly making hand signs behind her back.

"However," She said, "It won't be enough!" And all of a sudden there was not four but seventeen Kaede's.

As one the took a fighting stance and shouted, "Come on!"

Lee smirked. He was still smirking as the all charged. Even when all seventeen had surrounded him and were all attacking as one, he was still smiling.

Up in the stands, Zazie was confused.

_What is he up too?_

All of a sudden, Lee dropped down onto his hands and launched into a whirlwind of attacks not dissimilar to break dancing. Kaede's flew in every direction, vanishing in a puff of smoke when they contacted the hard floor.

The original Kaede found herself laying flat on her back, bleeding from a knock to the forehead and wheezing for breath from a kick to the stomach.

_So fast… _she thought.

A shadow fell over her. Lee lifted a foot and held it an inch over her face.

"Checkmate."

"Not quite."

Kaede grabbed Lee's foot and twisted, causing the knee to buckle. Launching off from her back, she came to her feet and launched a kick to Lee's back as he fell to his knees.

She could hardly believe what he did next.

Jumping with his knees, he spread is legs, narrowly avoiding her kick, and grabbed her leg. Pushing on it, he subtly shifted his balance and twisted into a fast spin, kicking Kaede across the face no less than three times in less than a second. Then, grabbing her leg again, he pushed off into an upside down spin, twisting forwards to land a heel kick to the underside of her chin.

Still not done, he spun to the ground and used instant movement to launch a series of lightning fast punches to Kaede's midsection, finishing with another instant movement to take him to behind her and elbowing her right in the small of her back.

She went down. Hard.

Lee looked at her sadly. "Sorry, Kaede."

The announcer held up his hand. "Winner, Lee!"

_Later on…_

Zazie caught up with Lee outside the first aid tent. "That was great Lee, you we- ouch!" She clutched her forehead in sudden pain.

Lee looked at her, a worried look on his face.

"Are you ok." She nodded.

"Yeah, I just have a small headache." She rubbed her head. Lee gave her a peck on top of her head. "Feel better?"

Zazie smiled. "Yup!"

Lee smiled and went back inside the tent. Zazie watched him go sadly, wondering why she hadn't told him how much pain his small kiss had caused her.

_My head feels like it's going to explode, now._

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I'm worried that that fight scene was substandard…--. Oh well. The others will be better, I hope.

Oh, and…

Rrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeevvvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwww.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's Note – Whooo! Lewis won! Anywise, back to this stuff.

Daughter of ether – You're probably right, now that I'm over the halfway point I do feel like I'm rushing it slightly. I'll keep your advice in mind.

Tikigod784 – Thanks, and yes, 1 year after the manga.

TzuiAssassian – Will I mention them? Maybe, maybe not. Hehehe

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Scattered applause could be heard coming from the arena, as Negi and Mana fought for a place in the finals. Lee sat in the participant's pavilion while he waited for them to finish up.

_I hope Negi wins. Mana scares me._

He caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning around he saw none other than his next opponent enter.

"Takamichi! What's up? Haven't seen you in a while." Takahata smiled and returned Lee's greeting in kind.

"Yeah, its been to long, hasn't it, Lee? You sure have grown since I last saw you. So what brings you to Mahora any ways. You've been here for a while, but I never had a chance to talk to you." Lee's face turned serious.

"Official business." He said grimly. Takahata lifted an eyebrow.

"It's them." Lee explained. Takahata grimaced.

"You're sure?"

"Yep."

"Damn. I thought we had more time…" Takahata sighed. "Oh well. Let's just enjoy the fight."

"But of course." Lee smiled.

Soon enough, they were stepping into the ring, this time regarding each other not as friends, but opponents.

"Don't go easy on me, Takamichi."

"Likewise, Lee. Show me what you've learned these past ten years."

The announcer held up his hand. "Ready…." Takahata put his hands into his pockets and adopted a relaxed stance. Smirking, Lee mimicked him.

"GO!" The announcer yelled.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then,

BANG!

A small explosion took place in the air between the two opponents. Takahata grinned.

"I see you've mastered the fist pressure I taught you." Lee lifted an eyebrow.

"Actually, Takamichi, I think I've one-upped you on that account."

Lee drooped low and spun around into a low roundhouse kick. A dense line of air swept Takahata's feet out from under him.

"Wha…?" Lee didn't give him time finish the thought. Coming back up, he threw himself into a 360 front-flip, bringing down his heel to smash another line of air onto Takahata's head.

All of a sudden, though, Takahata vanished. Cursing, Lee jumped up just in time to avoid a fist pressure to the back. Twisting in midair he landed lightly to face Takahata again.

Takahata was smiling. "So, you've figured out how to throw air pressure from not just your fist, but everywhere. Very good, Lee. Very good indeed. Looks like I'll have to take it up a notch."

Lee dropped back cautiously. Takahata raised his hands. First the left, then his right hand began to glow. He looked up at Lee grinning.

"Kanka."

Lee was blown back slightly by the explosion of power. Putting his arm across his eyes, he gritted his teeth.

_Damn. He mastered Kanka. Hadn't counted on that; it brings him up to a level I can't match._

_All I got left is tactics._

Ironically, his first tactic was running away; even with instant movement, he could barely avoid the blasts Takahata was throwing out. He began angling his movements, bring him closer to Takahata. After dodging a particularly powerful blast, he closed the distance and launched a double attack of fist pressure and…well, his fist.

Only to have himself thrown back about ten meters or so by a fist pressure from Takahata. Rolling with the blow, he pushed off from his back after he made contact, rather heavily, with the ground, and regained his feet.

And was once again blown back by another fist pressure, this time throwing him out of the arena.

Almost.

Slamming his heels into the edge of the ring, Lee transferred all his momentum into a forward flip, and barely managed to grab onto the edge of the ring. Kicking off from the side, he flipped again to land on his feet.

Takahata stood over him.

Lee gulped. "Damn."

BOOM!

Taking a Kanka blast full force isn't fun at all, Lee found out. In fact, it pretty much hurts like hell.

Lying in a 3-foot deep crater, he gasped for breath, feeling like his ribs were cracked. Each breath felt like a dagger to his chest.

Up in the stands, Zazie was nearly beside herself with worry. Mana, who had lost earlier, saw her nearly sobbing and went down to her.

"Zazie? What's wrong?" Zazie turned and looked at her friend.

"It's Lee, I think he's hurt, but I can't- AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" All of a sudden, Zazie screamed and clutched at her head. Mana gripped her shoulders and asked worriedly, "Zazie? Zazie! ZAZIE!"

Zazie felt like an army of men were each pounding her skull with ninety-pound sledgehammers. Sobbing, she collapsed in Mana's arms.

"My head… it feels… like it's going to…explode." She managed to gasp out.

Grabbing her friend and picking her up, Mana whispered to her. "It's alright, I'll get you to the infirmary. After you rest for a while, you'll feel better." Then, as an afterthought, Mana let slip something she and Lee had been keeping secret.

_She needs to feel better more than she needs a surprise._

"After all," Mana said, smiling, "You'll need to be one hundred percent for your special date with Lee tomorrow!"

Zazie smiled through her tears of pain. "A surprise date?"

Mana smiled. "That's right, so you better get better, or Lee will feel let down."

Zazie laughed a little. "I guess I'd better rest up then."

"That's the spirit."

Lee, still down in his crater, saw the entire thing.

_Zazie's in pain. Zazie's in pain. ZAZIE'S IN PAIN!!!_

Lee got up slowly. Takahata looked at him, surprised. Lee looked at him grimly.

"I'm sorry Takahata, but I have to finish this. I have to go see her."

"Who?"

Lee smiled through his tears. "Zazie."

He clenched his fist and looked at Takahata with eyes full of fire.

"And like hell I'm gonna go as a loser!" Yelling, he lunged at Takahata.

Takahata let loose a kanka blast, hitting Lee full in the chest. Lee slammed back into the ground, but managed to keep his feet. Gritting his teeth, he fought the pressure of the power bearing down on him.

_Zazie said she would cheer for me. If she's not here to cheer, then I'll have to cheer _her _up._

_By beating him._

With a Herculean effort, Lee jumped through the kanka, and slammed his fist right into Takahata's gut with all the force he could muster. Takahata gasped in pain. Slumping to his knees, he collapsed.

"It's your win, Lee. Good job."

Even before the announcer had claimed him the winner, Lee sped off. Upon arriving in the nurse's office, he saw Zazie lying in bed with an icepack on her forehead.

His knees went weak at seeing her in so much pain. Zazie turned weakly in his direction.

"Hi, Lee." She said weakly.

"Hi, Zazie." He whispered. Silence followed his remark. Shuffling his feet, he searched for something to say.

"I…I won." It seemed such an idiotic thing to say, but Zazie giggled softly.

"Good job, Lee. You go win the finals, too. It wouldn't be good to be depressed about losing during our special date, would it?" Lee gasped.

"You heard?" Zazie smiled.

"Mana told me." Lee could only nod. Looking down at his feet, he turned around.

"Alright, Zazie. You get better, and tomorrow we'll go on our special date."

He walked out of her room, back towards the tournament grounds, with a hint of a smile on his face.

"After I win."

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Whooo! That was a dozy. There was more plot development than fight scene in this, but eh. There's plenty more fight scene later on.

Ja ne.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's not – Man, have I been in a rut. I just, I dunno, lost my drive. Guess what got me back into it? Reading my own story. I guess I don't completely suck.

Baka purple – Glad you like the fluff, there's a lot more later.

Daughter of ether – Thank you. And donut-shaped Kanka would be AWESOME.

TzuiAssassian – It's a good idea, and we'll see what happens.

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The Lee standing across from him looked more akin to a killer robot than the happy-go-lucky man from before. Negi shivered under the sheer pressure of the glare.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Lee tensed.

"Zazie.. has a headache."

"A headache? I've had those before. Yeah, they're pretty bad, but-" Lee cut him off.

"Not a normal headache." Negi gulped.

"What do you mean?"

"It has to do with the rising amount of dark energy coming from the world tree. I myself have a headache, too. She seems particularly sensitive, though. Probably because she spends a lot of her spare time there." Negi gulped again.

"So it's getting worse?"

"Oh, hell, yes." The announcer cut in at that moment, before Lee could tell Negi any of the specifics.

"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament Finals! A most interesting match up today, between two-time finalist Negi Springfield, and his own student, newcomer Lee!" Applause broke out both for the kid teacher and the underdog.

Lee smiled darkly, "I'm sorry, sensei, but it looks like I have to tell you later." He dropped into a fighting stance.

"For now, though, I have to win."

The announcer held up his hand. Negi dropped into a stance similar to Kuu's.

_Oh yeah, Kuu Fei said she taught Negi martial arts. This should be interesting._

The announcer dropped his hand. "Fight!" 

Lee immediately launched a barrage of air pressure from his fist, looking for a quick kill. Negi had vanished, though, and quickly reappeared behind Lee. Lee turned into a low roundhouse kick, sweeping Negi's feet from under him. He fell, hard.

Lee looked down at Negi.

"That's it?"

"Not even close." Negi got up and yelled, "Cantus Bellax!" And immediately began to glow with magical power. He dropped into his stance again.

"Now the fight REALLY begins."

"Whatever you say, Sensei."

Negi pulled instant movement to appear in front of Lee, but immediately spun around Lee's countering fist.

"Sagitta Magica!" And arrows of light pounded into Lee from a dozen different places. It was all he could do just to catch all the blows on his blocking points. As soon as the last arrow hit, Lee pulled his own instant movement, going beside Negi. He used the leftover momentum and dropped to one hand, bring his leg up for a neck chop.

Negi went flying. After a hard landing, he got up slowly.

"Very nice. But still not enough." Feeding himself more magical energy, Negi pulled a double instant movement, counting on Lee's fast reaction time to react to the first before the second happened.

It worked perfectly.

Lee, once he had completed his spin only to find a rapidly disappearing image, sighed.

"Damn."

Negi's elbow caught him in the small of his back. Using his hands to twist himself, he landed hard on his back and kicked up with his feet, sending Negi, who had charged in after, up and over his head.

Negi used a magic arrow to right himself, only to be meet by a dense line of air pressure to the stomach. Gritting his teeth, he pushed through it, landing on the bare edges of the ring.

"You may be able to send air pressure from every part of your body, but they don't have anywhere near the power of Takahata's." Lee sighed.

"Don't I know it."

Negi flung out a hand. "Sagitta Magica, Aer Capturae!" And Lee's legs became roped with hard lines of air. Negi used instant movement to close the gap, and the launched into a Chinese kenpo influenced assault.

Lee was being pressed hard. Not being able to move his legs was more of a liability than he was willing to admit. However, using the fact that his legs wouldn't move at all, he used Negi's own spell for support while he twisted with his waist and blocked with his hands.

_Come on, legs, MOVE!_

The image of Zazie crying in pain confronted him. Yelling, he broke the spell.

Too late.

"Kenotetos Astropoteta De Temneto Dios Tykos!" (Think axe of thunder. REALLY BIG axe of thunder.)

BOOM!!!

_Damn.. this hurts even more then the kanka._

When the smoke had cleared, Lee was flat on his back. He forced his limbs to move, and move they did, albeit slowly. He felt like he was bruised on every part of his body, and the after affect of the lightning wasn't helping. Despite all this, he smiled.

"Good job, Negi. That last spell was really good." His smile grew wider.

"Now I can really cut loose." Negi frowned in puzzlement.

"What do you-" And then he gasped.

Lee was shimmering, like a mirage.

"What the- Lee what's happening?" Lee smiled.

"My final technique. You see, our bodies can only ever access 10 percent of its full strength. Any more, and we'd literally work ourselves to death by existing at that rate for so long. However, there is a way to overcome that barrier, using mental control and sheer willpower. It's what you're seeing right now. The energy I'm generating by mentally lifting my limits needs to continuously be expended, or my muscles would burst."

Lee shrugged. "Of course, though, there are drawbacks. I can only use this once, and for only a set amount of time. My personal best at being at 100 percent power before I would have died is…well, about a second."

"A second? All I have to do is survive a second and you're toast?"

"It isn't that simple. For that one second, I will be constantly moving at the rate of instant movement. With every part of my body."

Negi gasped.

"And that's not all. You see, I thought once, 'huh, what if I did instant movement while still at 100 percent'" Lee grinned. His shimmering increased.

"You're about to find out."

The ring exploded. Negi couldn't even see Lee, he was moving so fast. Then, all of a sudden, he was being pummeled on every part of his body, seemingly all at once. The blows came in so fast that each one felt like a kanka hit. He just couldn't believe at how fast Lee was moving.

And then it was over. His one-second up, Lee dropped to a knee, breathing hard.

Negi swayed slightly, and then collapsed, out cold.

The announcer (Who had to dive behind the wall to dodge the debris from the ring.) peeked out.

"I-I-is it over?" Lee nodded.

"Well, then… umm… Lee is-is the winner!"

The audience went wild.

_Later on…_

Lee met Negi under the world tree later.

"Hey, sensei, sorry I had to go that hard, but it was the only way, you know?" Negi shook his head.

"No, Lee, that's alright, I'm glad that I got to fight you. I hope you'll teach me that move someday, though!"

They both laughed. Lee turned serious after he finished, and sighed.

"Alright, from what I understand, the world tree rises in power during the festival, right? So, if the third day is the climax, then whoever is in charge will probably make his move then."

Negi slammed his fist into his palm. "We have to get to him before that!"

Lee nodded. "I know, but how? And while we're at it, who, and where? There's too many questions that still need answering." They both nodded grimly.

Lee said, "I'll look for anything suspicious tomorrow. We'll find him. And we'll stop him."

Negi nodded again.

Zazie's room, later… 

She tossed and turned, desperately trying to get some sleep, to get away from her monstrous headache. In desperation, her thoughts turned to Lee.

_I'm glad he won, although I'm sad I missed the fight. Mana said it was the fight of the century._

Zazie giggled at the memory of him giving her his trophy. He'd tripped over his feet after she had smiled, thanking him, and landed right on his head.

"I thought Libra masters didn't lose their balance?" She had said.

"Be quiet." Lee said, although it was muffled because his face was still firmly planted on the floor.

Later on, after everyone else had left, he held her hand and promised her the time of her life tomorrow. Zazie had melted.

He looked so tender… She grinned a little at the memory. Sighing, she finally drifted of to sleep. 

When the nightmare's found her.

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Yes, I copied from Naruto for Lee's final attack, but I also modified it, so I don't _completely _suck.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's note – So, I suck at prolonged romantic scenes, so this chapter may have spontaneous bursts of suckage, so be prepared. Writing an entire chapter about their date wasn't really planned, but it turned out was needed for the plot.

Tikigod784 – Once at full strength. If it was once a lifetime, he couldn't have found his limit, could he?

TzuiAssassian – Well, probably it will end, but Lee and Zazie might have more of their story to tell me ; ). You never know, I might get some crazy inspiration for a sequel.

Daughter of ether – Huzzah! I got you to feel emotion about a fictional character! Let there be dancing in the streets and benevolent riots which will be violently put down by the uneducated masses!

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Zazie thrashed about in the grips of a great nightmare. Small whimpering sounds were coming from her throat. No, this was no nightmare. It was to tame for that.

This was a phantasmagoria of horror and suffering.

All of a sudden, someone shook her violently. She opened her eyes, and immediately regretted doing so, as the sun seared into them with a vengeance. After she had gotten used to it somewhat, she peered out cautiously.

"L-Lee?" Lee broke out into a grin of relief.

"Yeah, it's me. What was wrong? You were thrashing and turning about. Was it a nightmare?" Zazie nodded slowly, still wiping tears off her face. Wordlessly she grabbed Lee and buried her face in his chest.

"Lee held her tenderly. Then biting his lip, he asked the question he really would rather not.

"Listen, Zazie. Do you remember any of it?" Zazie shook her head, still trembling like a leaf.

"No. I only know that it's always the same nightmare I've always had." Lee grimaced.

"Always had? For how long?"

"I don't know, maybe since I was six or so." Lee looked at her sadly, and held her even tighter.

_Damn. He's been here longer than I thought._

Lee forced himself to cheer up. This was the day for Zazie, about Zazie, and to cheer up Zazie. There was no room for dark thoughts when one had to cheer another up.

"Hey, Zazie, cheer up! After all, today we're spending the entire afternoon together, remember?" Zazie looked up at him and nodded, smiling a little.

"Good. So get dressed, wipe away those tears, and meet me by the world tree at 1. Ok?" Zazie nodded again. Leaning up, she kissed Lee on the cheek, whispering,

"Thanks, Lee." Lee grinned.

"Anytime, beautiful."

_Later on…_

Lee sat by the world tree, frowning. He had combed almost every inch of the festival grounds during the morning, but there was neither hide nor hair of anything that could possibly help him discover who was behind all this.

Granted, he didn't have the time to search everywhere, but there just wasn't a signature of dark power, other than the world tree, within a ten-mile radius. He just couldn't understand it.

Sighing, he leaned against the tree.

_Well, I might as well just wait for Zazie. It's close to one, and there's not a lot I can do when I have no idea where to start._

He didn't have long to wait. About ten minutes later, five minutes before one, Zazie rounded the corner and walked towards the world tree. Lee got up and gave her a quick hug, and then offered her his arm.

"Shall we?"

_Zazie's POV_

After Lee left, she immediately took a cold shower. She still had the remnants of a headache, but nowhere near as bad as yesterday. It was as though yesterday's headache was a pounding scream of rage, but today's was a silent, brooding shadow.

Banishing the dark whispers from her mind, she went to her closet, wanting to choose a cute outfit for her date with Lee.

…Before she remembered that she was hopeless at such things. She didn't even choose her own outfit for the dance. Mana had helped with that.

In the end, she settled for a knee-length white skirt, a white tank top, a black short sleeved zipper jacket, and the aquamarine necklace Lee had gotten her for Valentine's day. (This was the hardest part of the chapter. I swear. I honestly just suck at knowing what looks good or not.)

Brushing her hair in a hurry, she walked out of the room to get to her date. She paused by the door, and took one of Mana's white purses and slung it over one shoulder, just for effect, and then rushed out.

She arrived at the World tree about five minutes before one, but Lee was already there, wearing what he always did. He got up when he saw her and gave her a quick hug, then offered her his arm.

"Shall we?" Zazie giggled and slipped his arm through his.

"Of course." And off they went.

Lee turned to Zazie as they walked.

"So, where do you want to go first." Zazie put a finger to her lower lip in concentration.

"Hmmm… how about the games section?" Lee grinned. "Your wish is my command."

Once they got there, Zazie gasped in amazement at all the huge, fancy prizes. She had never been there before, well at least not only to have fun.

Lee grinned to see her so happy, her head on a swivel looking at all the prizes. He finally saw her eye catch on one, a gigantic overstuffed teddy bear. He nudged her, saying, "So, how about I win that bear for you?" Zazie looked at him, eyes shining.

"Oh, Lee, would you?" Lee grinned.

"Of course."

They walked over to the booth. It was like a shooting gallery, except the targets had pictures of their prizes on them and were moving around at high speed. Lee paid a dollar for three tries, and picked up his pellet gun. He examined it for a second, turning it over in his hand, and then took aim.

_Inhale… Exhale._

DING! 

"We have a winner!" The shopkeeper yelled. He took down the big bear and gave it to Lee, who handed it to Zazie. Zazie smiled widely and thanked him. Lee grinned.

"Anything else?" Zazie looked around, and pointed to another object.

"That one!"

"OK"

Soon after, they left the games section, Zazie with an armload of toys of all shapes and sizes. Lee was laughing.

"I don't think we left any prizes for the others, do you?" Zazie giggled.

"Nope, I don't think so." They wandered on, eventually ending up in the entertainment section. Lee pointed out something.

"Look, they're doing some sort of play over there, want to watch?" Zazie nodded.

"Sure." They filed into a row near the back and took their seats. It was an adventure comedy play, using both improvisation and film noire type dialogue to elicit the best audience reaction. All in all, it was quite enjoyable.

Or at least Lee thought so, because when they neared the end, they asked for a hero from the audience, and Zazie was singled out. Despite her protestations, she was pulled up onto the stage and given a plastic sword.

A guy in a dragon costume lunged at her, "Ha ha, you shall never defeat me- oomph!" Zazie was so surprised and flustered, she just whacked away at him with her plastic sword until everyone, especially Lee, was bawling with laughter at the sight of the dragon scrambling off on all fours to escape the menace that was Zazie.

When they finally let Zazie off, she frowned at Lee, but he was laughing so hard she couldn't help but get caught up in it.

_Later on…_

Zazie and Lee were back at the world tree plaza again, with greatly reduced funding and huge smiles plastered on to both of their faces. Lee was still giggling over the fiasco at the play.

Zazie, for her own part, was sighing at their almost kiss while they were riding the love tunnel (which she nearly had to drag Lee on). It was so close, but her headache choose right then to make an encore, rendering her attempt useless.

Sighing again, she glanced at her watch. She snapped up straight.

"Oh, man, it's almost time for me to get ready!" She started stuffing items into her purse, and got up to go. Lee caught her wrist.

"Go? What do you mean?" Zazie sighed.

"My club performs tonight, and I have to get ready. Say," she said, "Do you want to come and watch me perform?" Lee smiled.

"Of course! I didn't know you were in a club, though. What's it called? And where is it?" Zazie glanced at her watch.

"No time for that now, just find Mana, she'll take you there when it's time. Promise you'll be there?" Lee nodded.

"Promise." Zazie smiled, and ran off.

_Later on… again…_

Lee found Mana and the others near the dorms. "Hey, Mana, I need you to take me to Zazie's club, I want to watch her perform." Mana smiled.

"Sure, Lee." Negi and the others decided they wanted to come to. They walked along, chatting merrily at how their festivals were. Lee glanced off to the side and noticed the sun setting. A thought struck him.

"Hey, Mana, what _is_ the club Zazie's in?" Mana half turned to him, looking surprised.

"You don't know? I mean, come on, you are her boyfriend." Lee shook his head.

"Sorry. But anyway, what is it called." Mana turned back around.

"The Nightmare Circus."

Lee stopped cold. His face paled. Negi stopped too.

"Lee, you look like you've seen a ghost. What's wrong?" Lee swallowed a few times, and then called back up to Mana in a hoarse voice.

"What did you say it was called?" Mana turned completely around this time, concerned.

"The Nightmare circus, why?" Lee swallowed, or at least tried.

"We are in a lot of trouble." Everyone looked at him, confused. He turned on his heel and walked back towards the dorms.

"Come with me."

_Zazie's POV…_

Zazie was swinging around on her trapeze, making complicated stunts of balance and control look easy, but at the same time, she was scanning the audience, searching for Lee.

_Where is he…_

Eventually, she bit her lip and turned away from the audience. Later on, she sat in a dark corner of the tent, huddled up, sobbing.

_He broke his promise. He never came._

_He never came._

_**Why would he? **_A new voice said. Startled, she looked around.

"W-who's there?"

_**No one's there. It's just you, and me. I'm your mind, you see. Now, I'll tell you why your precious Lee didn't come. He doesn't care about you.**_

"That's not true!"

_**Oh? Then why did he not come? If he really cared, he would have shown up.**_

Zazie broke down, weeping.

_**There, there child, it'll be all right. Just go to sleep, and I'll help you. It'll all be all right, now.**_

Zazie's sobs grew softer, until finally she gave in and fell asleep. Almost immediately, though, she got up again, and opened her eyes.

They glowed red.

_**Finally…**_

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If anyone felt the spine tingle of sudden realization of something really important, you HAVE to tell me, because if I gave it away too early I'll be sad : (.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer – I don't own negima.

Author's note – So, I have good news for you all who've managed to stick it out with this fic. Or, at least, it'll be good news to those of you that both stuck it out _and_ enjoyed it.

I'm extending this fic. Indefinitely. I looked a t the end I had planned, and this little voice nagged at me, saying that Lee and Zazie have more to tell. So I'm going to finish up this arc, and from then on it could go anywhere. Literally. Updates will be a little more sporadic, too, but just be patient, and it'll be worth it.

Tikigod784 – Yup, the climax is nigh. And I'm glad I didn't spoil the ah-ha! Moment.

TzuiAssassian – yeah, errors suck, I'm sorry. Also, you're right about the clothes, and I will work on my date writing skills, but honestly, never having been on one myself, I just blanked.

Daughter of ether – well, any insight you got before I revealed stuff in this chapter is probably coincidence. I dropped a few hints early on, but maybe those just seem obvious to me because I knew what they meant.

Sparky – thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you enjoy it.

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In Lee's dorm room, the mood was very grim. Mana, Negi, Asuna, Kaede, Konoka, Setsuna, and Ku Fei all sat in a circle looking at Lee, who was staring at the floor with the look of a man who's lost everything.

Negi spoke up, "So… Lee. What's going on?" Lee looked up with dead eyes.

"…you know that evil group I told you about earlier?" They all nodded.

"I never told you its name because looking for it would have drawn its attention to you. However, now that I've found it, I feel you all need to know everything I know." Lee clasped his hands in front of him, and looked up at the ceiling as though seeking comfort.

He sighed, "To start with, the name of the organization is The Nightmare Circus." Everyone gasped. Mana clapped her hand to her mouth in horror as tears welled up in her eyes, but she fought them away. She spoke up,

"The club Zazie's in?"

"One and the same." Mana bit her lip to hide her tears.

Lee carried on emotionlessly, "I believe that they used Zazie as a puppet without her knowledge, acting the part of a friendly club, when in truth they used her as a spy of information on the outside." Mana got a grip on herself and interrupted.

"Actually, The Nightmare Circus and Zazie moved here at the same time. She said the circus took care of her after she was orphaned."

Lee sighed, "That's even worse, then. They would have had more time to use her." He got up and strode to the window. "With the world tree nearing its peak power, they're probably planning to strike soon. Once they no longer needed her, my guess is that they imprisoned her after her show. I don't know what's going to happen to her now."

He turned his back on the window and looked up at them all. "But before anything else, I need to tell you what I know." He came back and sat down again.

He took a deep breath and began. "The Nightmare Circus is an evil organization convened and directed for the sole purpose of stealing dreams. This is why we believe that their leader is a Nightmare Clown."

"What's a Nightmare Clown?" Negi asked.

"A Nightmare Clown is a demon formed of nightmares; as such, they feed on good dreams to live. In the process of their feeding, though, the victim will be given terrifying nightmares."

"A Nightmare Clown is extremely dangerous, not only because he gives nightmares, but because he can do it merely by focusing on his victim, no matter how far away. This is how I believe he used Zazie; to see new victims to feed upon."

Asuna, frowned, "But if all he does is give nightmares, why is he so evil? Nightmares aren't so bad after you wake up."

Lee frowned as well, and thought for a second. Then he asked, "Asuna, after you've woken up from a really bad nightmare, how do you feel?"

Asuna shrugged, "Fine, except a little tired. The worse the nightmare, the more tired I am."

Lee fixed her with a piercing glare. "Exactly."

"You see, the tired feeling you get isn't because it woke you up sooner than you would have liked, it's because the good dream you no longer have as much energy as you did before."

Asuna furrowed her brow, "I don't get it."

Lee sighed, "Nightmares diminish the energy you have in a detrimental way. It's like sucking the life out of someone, except slower. However, the more exposure you have to a Nightmare Clown, the worse the nightmares get, until eventually you simply have no more energy left."

"And worse yet, this specific Nightmare Clown is incredibly powerful; he can cause nightmares in those he's not even focusing on just from the leak of his power while he's feeding."

The mood, if it was possible, became even grimmer.

Lee continued, "Once, there was a group of magical individuals dedicated and raised to finding and destroying the Nightmare Clowns. They called themselves the Dream Clan. They were very good at what they did, too."

"Too good, some say. They fought against horrific demons and suffered terrifying nightmare's for their entire lives."

"The strain it put on each of them was tremendous. Eventually, their emotions shut down. They simply did nothing but search out the demons and destroy them. It was their driving purpose, their hunger. All other emotions stopped mattering."

"Finally, the greatest and most powerful Nightmare Clown, believed to be the last, was destroyed by the few remaining clan members. After that horrific battle, there were only two left, both of whom had their hair turn stark white after the horror of watching their friends and family slaughtered."

He paused, "This was about 15 years ago."

He took a deep breath and continued, "Five years later, they were found near the edge of the Sahara." His eyes rose to meet Negi's. "Dead."

"It wasn't clear what killed them at the time, but both of them had an expression of sheer terror stamped on their features, along with slashes all along their bodies. 6 months later, The Nightmare Circus was discovered, and it was concluded that one of the demons must have survived the purge of the Dream Clan."

Here Lee paused and choked back a sob. "The first agents of the magical world to be sent after them… were my parents. I was six at the time." He looked down at the ground.

"We found their bodies three months later, in exactly the same condition as the first two." Everyone gasped again. Mana touched Lee's shoulder in sympathy. Nodding his thanks, he continued.

"After that, I was sent to a relative's house, where I trained myself to fight. At ten, I ran away and was accepted into a secret dojo that taught me the Libra style. While I was there, I also taught myself instant movement, and at twelve I went to learn fist pressure from Takahata."

"He was famous for his triple A ranked fighting ability, so I sought him out and had him train me for a while. After that, I found a secret village of ninja's, who taught me to 'lift my limits', or 'open the gates' as they termed it."

His voice grew stronger. "At sixteen I was accepted into the same group my parents were in, and requested and was given this assignment to find and destroy the Nightmare Clown."

His shoulders slumped, "And now Zazie has been taken prisoner right under my nose."

He seemed to shrink before their eyes, "That's all I know, along with how I knew it. But now, I don't know what to do. If he's gotten powerful enough to conceal himself from me for this long… I don't know if I can take him anymore. Even the Dream Clan, who lived specifically to kill the clown, were killed. If they couldn't kill him, how can I?"

He buried his face in his hands. Mana stood up.

"Lee, you idiot." Lee looked up. "Are you just gonna sit there while Zazie's being held prisoner?"

Lee shrugged, "But what can I do? He's to strong."

Mana smacked him.

Everyone else looked on in shock.

Mana spoke again, her voice seething with disgust. "Is that it then? Is this how far your love and need to avenge your parents takes you? Is this how far your love for Zazie will go? When the Circus strikes tomorrow, hundreds of people will die terrible, horrifying deaths, right?" Lee nodded slowly "So why are you sitting there? I thought you had more guts then that."

Mana turned away. "If I'd have known that this was it, I wouldn't have let you date Zazie in the first place. She's to good for you."

Lee mumbled something. Mana turned around.

"Eh? What was that?"

Lee exploded. "I said I KNOW! She's way to perfect for me, way to cute, and funny, and nice, and kind to need to have anything to do with me!" Lee's tears flowed freely now "But she does any ways. She hangs out with me, and holds my hand, and hugs me willingly. She's amazing to me. She's the first girl I've ever loved."

His eyes blazed with fire. "Which is why we're not leaving her for that Clown bastard!" He ran to his chest and threw it open, dug in under a false bottom, and drew out a pair of leather studded belts, and hung them around his waist so they formed an X over his waist. Hanging from the low end of each belt was a four bladed steel claw, with a steel rod handhold and bars to steady the hand on either side.

He looked at them fondly. "These claws were formed of the melted won swords of the Dream Clan, along with the steel from my parents' swords. They're my weapons, my Dream Claws."

He looked at them all with a fiery glint in his eyes. "Let's go rescue Zazie!"

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Looooooooooooooooong chapter, although you wouldn't know it by the page count. There are some minor details that I never worked out, I realize, but on the whole this could be believable, right?


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's note - Wow, I feel shamed. This is the only chapter I've written that got a hmmm…. Comment from everyone. I should plan more. Also, I'm shortening this arc by a chapter, not because I'm removing content, but because I realized that I didn't have enough content to fill 3 more chapters.

Tikigod784 – Yes, they are. You'll see why.

TzuiAssassian – I didn't even think of that. Chapter 13, hmm… lol. You're right, that does fit. Also, I have everything for the final scenes planned out (the part right at the beginning might be sketchy though.), so I will be following my own plan for now.

Daughter of ether – I think I covered everything I meant to cover, so it's probably the inexperience in me coming out.

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"Is that it?" Lee asked quietly.

"Yeah, that's it." Mana whispered grimly. It was late, so late that all the festival booths and activities had shut down, to re-open on the third day. Lee and Negi's group sat on a roof overlooking a cluster of large circus tents, which had a dark aura surrounding them.

"All right then." Lee responded. He got up, and the others stood with him.

"You guys probably already know this, but I'm really grateful for the help you guys are giving me. Without you guys, I doubt I could even get to the Clown."

"Don't sweat it, Lee." Asuna winked. "Even if you didn't ask us to come, we would have any ways, right guys?" the rest of the group nodded in confirmation.

Lee smiled, "Well, thanks any ways." Then he turned to the others and drew his Dream claws from his belts.

He looked at them all grimly, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "All right, guys, he knows we're coming. He'll have found out from Zazie about her relationship with me, and no doubt he knows of my fighting prowess from her too. So, we're going in hard and fast, and blast down his defenses before he can respond." The others nodded silently.

"We're going to hope he won't expect me to bring help, so that will be an advantage. We're going to get in, grab Zazie, and get out, as fast as we can."

Negi frowned, "What about the Clown?"

"I've called in reinforcements from the agency. As much as I would love to take the bastard down myself," Lee clenched his fist; "this is no time for personal vendetta's when I'm 99 sure I can't defeat him. It would be stupid to let my revenge jeopardize our chances of saving Zazie."

They all got up and checked their weapons, and waited for Lee's signal. He turned to each of them and nodded. Then he turned silently towards the tents.

The tents where Zazie was being held prisoner.

"Let's go." They charged down the slope. Not making a sound, they ran down the road, past all the shops and game booths. Lee turned towards the middle on, the largest one, and the others silently followed.

Right before they entered the tent, they let forth yells and battlecries with gusto.

However, when they finally entered the tent, it was empty. Dark, but empty.

Mana turned to Lee while she looked around warily. "Lee… what's going on?" Lee scanned the darkness with piercing eyes, and half-turned his head to Mana.

"I don't know. He should know we're here; he has to. I expected to run into some opposition. This absence is making me jumpy."

He turned back to scanning the darkness. Suddenly, a spotlight turned on, not to far from where the group huddled.

In the center of the spotlight was a stool. Sitting on that school was Zazie, bound and gagged, a trickle of blood coming from a wound on her forehead. She was quite clearly unconscious.

Standing behind her, in a ringmaster's uniform was a clown. His face was painted white, except for a teardrop tattoo under his left eye and a scar tattoo over his right. His mouth was twisted up in an evil leer.

"Why, hello, there! I'm sorry but we're closed for the night. As you can see, our star is sleeping right now." He gestured to Zazie with his cane.

Lee's eyes blazed with cold fire. "You…"

Negi gasped, "The Nightmare Clown!" The clown cackled evilly. He swept off his top hat and bowed.

"I can see my reputation proceeds me. I'm sorry, though, for I have no time for introductions. My friend will take care of you instead!" With that, he threw up his hand and the spotlight vanished.

It reappeared on Lee and his group.

Surrounding them were hordes upon hordes of demons.

With a screeching cry the attack was launched.

Asuna, got out her big sword, the bane of demons, and added in her kanka for good measure. Spinning and slashing, she took off hands and legs and heads. Twisting around, she took out four at once.

Setsuna unleashed Zanganken and the air cutting spark, and unleashed her full yokai power. White wings spread on her back, and she brandished her nodachi with a determined glare.

Kuu Fei brought out her tonfa and set herself. Just as the demon wave reached her, she unleashed the power and grace of the continent on her attackers. Each hit blew a demon back into the ranks of its fellows if not outright destroying it.

Kaede split into seventeen copies, each one of them handling a separate demon. Well, actually the real Kaede took on three, whirling her ninja star and using the darkness around her to her advantage. Her kunai rained death upon the horde.

Negi unleashed the power of light and lightning, tearing into the demon ranks. The staff of his father also came into play, as the kid teacher fought with the determination he was noted for.

Konoka, for her part, was mostly in the middle of the group. She limited herself to healing the others and unleashing the odd spell, knowing that if she fell, the others wouldn't last long without her healing touch.

However, none of these extraordinary fighters matched Mana and Lee. With their fear and concern for their friend in their minds, they raised themselves to new heights.

Mana was a human gattling gun, leaping into the middle of a group of demons and unleashing gun fu at impossible speed. Her demon banishing bullets were one hit KO's, much to the demons' horror.

And Lee, the Wind of Death, fought with such vigor that seventeen demons were out of the fight within the first thirty seconds of fighting.

His eyes were alight with bloodlust, his dance was that of death. Each thrust or slash took out an opponent. Flowing through their defenses, he lived up to his title.

And then the unthinkable happened.

They began to lose ground.

"There's just to many!" Setsuna shouted.

"I know! I know!" Lee bellowed back. Indeed, for every demon he took down, two took its place. He had to think of a way out of this, and fast. Behind him, Asuna's kanka ran out, and a wolf demon took the opportunity to score her back with its claws. Asuna cried out and slashed with her sword, felling the beast.

Negi ran over to her, chanting. All of a sudden, a bright flash rang out killing a good fifty demons, who then, growling curses, they withdrew a bit, and began working themselves up into a frenzy.

The group ran over to Asuna, who was down on one knee. Konoka was healing her even as they got there.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Asuna smiled. "We have bigger problems."

The demons were chanting promises of death and torture in a harsh, grating language. The pitiful group of humans, they were all huddled around the injured one! Their proximity would only make them easier to kill…

As they finally reached a fever pitch. The group of humans suddenly broke and ran, carving a path through the demons deeper into the tent. Realizing what was happening, they reinforced that point.

Under sheer weight of numbers, the advance slowed. The demons pressed in, hungry.

Many of them did not feel the wind around their legs until it was too late.

Lee sprinted deeper into the tent, free from the clutch of demons, as many of them collapsed, their legs cut out from under them. He could barely hear Mana's voice over their screams of pain.

"Go, Lee! We'll hold them here; go find Zazie!"

Lee pressed on, determined. The darkness swallowed him up, but he kept running.

_I'm coming, Zazie._

All of a sudden, he burst into what appeared to be a side tent. Dimly lit, it wasn't nearly as big as the tent he was just in.

His jaw dropped when he saw Zazie in the corner.

Running over to her, he removed her gag.

"Zazie!? Zazie!?" Zazie shook her head groggily.

"Lee…?" Lee's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Don't worry Zazie, I'll get you out of this." He hurriedly began untying Zazie's bonds. When they were free, she collapsed into his arms, sobbing.

"Oh, Lee… you don't know how awful it was…" Lee patted her back.

"Don't worry, Zazie. I'm here now. Everything will be all right." Zazie's sobs slowed and ceased.

"Yeah,,, you're here. Now everything… will be just… fine."

It was only due to Lee's incredible reaction time combined with his innate sense of danger that allowed him to escape the blow alive. Zazie still left three long, shallow slashes in his chest as he jumped out of the way.

"Zazie… what…" Zazie looked up at him with glowing red eyes. She licked blood from a foot long claw that had suddenly sprouted from her finger. His blood.

"Oh… too bad." She purred. Claws sprouted from her other fingers as well, until every finger sported a claw. She arched her back and stood, adopting a feral stance.

"Oh well. Now the fun begins!"

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hehehe


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer – I don't own Negima 

Author's note – Ahhh, final chapter. Man, it feels weird to actually finish something I've been working on. Oh well, though. Oh, also, if I put up any type of sequel at all, it'll be in the crossover section. Mahora is no longer large enough to house our heroes.

Tikigod784 – If you hadn't have caught that, I never would have known. Thanks.

Daughter of ether – Honestly, when I saw that my twist wasn't all that original, I nearly changed my planned ending just to niggle you. But, I persevered, despite being a no good copy pants.

Kafka's Dragon – Yes, you're right, and daughter of ether to, that does fit the flow better, but what can I say, except I suck. /. Glad you enjoy the story too.

TzuiAssassian – hehehe, you'll see what happened to her…

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Lee was in shock. Zazie, _his _Zazie, was standing there with his blood dripping off her claws, wearing a skimpy jester's uniform and an evil grin.

"Z-Zazie, what… I don't understand." Zazie cackled evilly.

"No, my dear Lee, I didn't expect you too. You always were so dull." The emphasis on the last word hit Lee like a hammer.

"What do you mean?" Zazie grinned again.

"Don't you get it? I'M the Nightmare Clown!" And with that statement, Zazie launched the attack.

Acting purely on instinct, for his rational mind was in shock, he avoided her first thrust and ducked to avoid the following slash. Laughing maniacally, Zazie pressed the attack, swiping across with her right hand, and turning through the attack to launch a roundhouse that caught Lee on the side of his face.

Lee got up slowly, feeling blood trickle down from a cut lip.

_This can't be… not her... not Zazie…_

Zazie came in low, leading with an upward slash. Lee jumped back, and threw out a claw blunt edge leading to catch the claw and deflect it aside. Undaunted, Zazie Front flipped over his head and spun two complete circles, slashing with both hands four times. All at different heights. All blocked by Lee.

"So, that means…"

"Yes, it was all an act, darling. I never felt anything for you at all. I merely wanted to play with the agency's chosen hero before I destroyed him." Zazie leapt forward and locked her claws with Lee's. Grinning she pushed against him, driving him back a few paces. Then, she back flipped away, catching Lee under his chin with a kick in the process.

Landing lightly, she went in fast, coming at Lee from all different directions. High, low, left, right, and thrust all came into play, but Lee stopped most. Here and there a few nicked through, scratching a shoulder, cutting a leg.

"What's the matter, Lee? You're not up to par! Where's the full fist pressure you mastered? Where's the instant movement you so love? WHERE'S YOU'RE GATE LIFTING, LEE?" Breaking off the attack, Zazie put a hand on her hip, pulling down her bottom lip in a pouting gesture.

"Or, could it be you just won't attack the girl you love?" Launching an offensive again, Zazie yelled, "Oh, Lee, THAT'S SO SWEET!"

Lee went through the motions like a dead man. Block, twist, back flip, right block, throw out a leg to block a roundhouse, duck, deflect a right jab, lean to avoid thrust, double block high, and repeat. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. I mean, come on, the very girl he set out to save, his first love, was now laughing maniacally and slashing away at him with a killing lust in her eyes.

Finally, Lee broke. His eyes went dead, his arms went limp. He was totally open to the thrust Zazie launched. He saw it coming, felt the tip of her claw pierce his chest.

When all of a sudden it stopped.

Lee went wide-eyed. All of a sudden, the red had dimmed from Zazie's eyes. Just a little. Just a bit.

But enough to rekindle Lee's spirit.

"You're still in there aren't you Zazie?" He saw a fierce inner struggle go on. All of a sudden, Zazie's face twisted and she back flipped away.

The red was back.

"Heh, you fool, there is no Zazie left. She's dead, fool!"

But the clown had made a mistake.

"No Zazie? Then that means you aren't Zazie at all. You're only the clown possessing her, and my Zazie is still in there." Lee grinned.

"And she wouldn't ever strike me." The clown grinned.

"Would you bet your life on it?"

"Try me."

With a feral yell Zazie leaped at him, thrusting a claw at his chest.

Lee, however, stood tall, arms at his sides, a sad smile on his face.

"Zazie, I trust you. I put my life in your hands." He closed his eyes, waiting for the outcome. One way or the other.

Three seconds passed. Lee opened his eyes.

Zazie's claw was an inch from his chest. Zazie herself was quivering, but except for that, she was completely motionless.

Her eyes were yellow again, and filled with tears.

Dropping to her knee's, Zazie cupped her face in her hands as her claws vanished. She began to breathe heavily as she struggled with her inner demon. Lee dropped to a knee and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Fight him, Zazie! I know you can do it!"

Shivering, Zazie threw back her head and let out a wild yell.

"Get out! Get out! GET OUT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

An explosion rocked the tent. A huge shadow flew out of Zazie's body and flew to a corner, where it folded in on itself, waiting.

Zazie collapsed in Lee's arms.

"Oh, Lee, I'm so sorry!" Lee held her close, smiling.

"It's all right, Zazie. You did it, you won!" Lee took her by the shoulders and pulled her away so she faced him.

"Let's go home."

With tears in her eyes, Zazie shook her head.

"I wish it was that simple." Lee looked puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Zazie looked at steadily, tears still flowing down her beautiful face.

"You see, Lee, while all my feelings for you are true, there's a lot you don't know about me." Lee scratched his head.

"Like?" Zazie took a deep breath.

"Well, for example, I'm the last surviving member of the dream clan. My parents were thought to be the last, but they had me before they were killed." Lee jumped up.

"WHAT!?!?!" Zazie stood up too.

"I would have told you, but that vile thing controlled a lot of my will." Lee frowned.

"Then, that means…"

"Yes. The Nightmare Clown killed my parents, and then decided to revenge himself further by possessing me and using me as a puppet."

Zazie's eyes blazed with fire. "That bastard possessed me for 15 years! Using me to do his bidding, kill innocent people, and spread his nightmares around. I'll kill him for this, I swear!"

Lee frowned, "What do you mean? He's dead, right? Driving him out of you killed him."

Zazie shook her head again. "Sorry, but that's not true. In possessing me, he locked up a large part of his power, you see. He considered it worth it, though, because of the humiliation the Dream Clan suffered from having one such as he control me. However, now that he's free, his power will return in full."

Zazie turned to the corner where a large shadow was forming slowly into the shape of a man.

"That's him, there. Right now he's invulnerable, but soon he'll have to take his true form, and then we'll kill him." Zazie reached out her hand. All of a sudden, a yellowish scimitar appeared in her grasp.

"This is the Dream Sword; only weapons made out of dream steel, forged by one of the Dream Clan like this, can kill it." Glancing over at Lee, she added, "You're claws have elements of it too, from my parents' swords. You can hurt him too."

She looked back at the clown. Raising a hand above her head, she snapped. Instantly, her skimpy jester's uniform changed into the form fitting yellow silk garment of the Dream Clan. Yellow leather was under the silk, further raising it's defensive ability.

She half raised her scimitar, then dropped it again.

"Oh. One more thing." Lee cocked his head to the side.

"What?"

Zazie leaped at him, throwing her arms around him. Then, looking right into his eyes, she leaned forward and kissed him full on the lips as passionately as she could. Lee returned her kiss just as fiercely.

After an eternity, they broke apart. Zazie smiled shyly.

"I wanted to make sure I did that in case we didn't make it." All of a sudden, a deep, dark voice rolled through the tent.

"Are you quite through?" They both turned and saw the true Nightmare Clown.

He was decked out from head to toe in shadowy steel plate. A black cape looking like the darkness itself hung from his shoulders. A helm with twin curving horns was over his face. His hands held twin falchions of black steel.

Lee smiled. "No, we're not through. You are." The Clown laughed without humor.

"As if I hadn't heard that before. Actually, I think you're parents told me the same thing. Right before they died."

Lee bellowed in rage and charged.

The clown threw out his falchions to block the double slash he launched. Not stopping, Lee jumped up and launched a double-footed kick to his chest.

The clown simply sidestepped.

Only Lee's Libra training prevented him from falling and leaving himself open. Twisting, he got his legs under him and charged again.

Zazie joined the frey. Her sweeping style fit her weapon choice, and her small stature made it easy to defend herself. She flowed better than Lee did, and was very fast on offense to defense changes. None of that matter, though, once the nightmare clown punched her through her sword, right into her gut, sending her flying.

Lee came in low to take advantage of the Clown's momentary distraction. He thrust with both claws towards the gut. The clown swept around faster than seemed possible, slashing down to block.

It was a feint, though. As soon as he saw the Clown start to swing, he stopped short, and pushed off from his legs, twisting around to launch a barrage of fist pressure from point blank range.

The clown took the impact of a hundred blows and more and didn't even flinch. Lashing out, he caught Lee with an armored fist.

Lee twisted with the blow, and as soon as his feet touched the ground, he used instant movement to take him right back to the clown.

Zazie had recovered, joining in from the other side, she pressed hard with a series of sweeping slashes. The Clown handled them both with ease, turning sideways to allow him to defend against both at once.

The flicker of metal and clash of swords lasted for nearly a minute, until the Clown, deliberately missed a parry, and slashed a large gash on Lee's shoulder. Lee followed through any ways, hitting the Clown on the shoulder.

Only to see his claw bounce off harmlessly.

"You can't penetrate my armor, boy. Not with just that strength!"

Lee grit his teeth, and re-set himself, defending against the counter attack.

Zazie had forced a stalemate, with neither the Clown nor her being able to get an attack through. Finally, she twisting around a sword blow and dropped low, gashing the Clown through his armor at a seam in the plate at his shin.

The Clown gasped in pain.

"You'll pay for that, girl!"

All of a sudden, the clown threw Lee back, and stepped it up a notch. His falchions were but slivers of shadow, but their bite was as cold as ice.

Zazie fought well, the best she ever had, but she couldn't defend against the terrible onslaught. Thirty slashes defended, but the thirty-first gashed her shoulder. Fifty thrusts parried, but the fifty-first cut open her leg.

Lee slammed into the Clown's back, driving him back. Then, bellowing he launched an attack with Zazie.

Zazie, being smaller, was in the middle, and thrust at the clown's chest, occasionally throwing out a wide slash to try and make an opening. Lee stood behind her, lashing out with wide thrusts aimed at the seams at shoulder and waist.

As for the Clown himself, he parried the thrust of the scimitar with one hand while the other went out to intercept the claw blows.

But slowly, surely, he began to lose ground.

First one step back. Then another. And another.

The clown had fought Lee as Zazie, and himself, and had seen him fight through Zazie's eyes. Lee was good, he knew. But now, with claws adorning his hands, his strikes nearly cut the wind. The perfect balance ingrained after years of training allowed him to recover from any counter. Add that to the fist pressure he used sometimes through the gaps of Zazie's legs, armpit, and over her head, and you had a lot to deal with.

And as if that wasn't enough, Zazie herself was a hail of thrusts and slashes. Keeping her swings short, she perfectly complemented Lee's wide cuts. Her footwork was almost as good as Lee's, keeping her balanced and ready to lunge at any moment. And with the sword of her ancestor's in her hands, her determination increased tenfold.

As individuals, they were good. As a pair, they were incredible.

All of a sudden, Lee used instant movement to bring him from slashing over Zazie's shoulder to thrusting from under her armpit. As if reading his mind, Zazie launched a wide slash from the other side.

The clown leapt back, barely avoiding the blow. He panted heavily.

The pair grinned. "We've got you on the run, now. Give it up; we're stronger than you." The clown laughed slowly.

"This isn't over yet."

Leaping forward, he unleashed a storm of slashes that took both of them off guard. Being in front, Zazie received the brunt of the attack. Angry red lines appeared all along her body, even though she defended well. Lee was hit by cuts all over her extremities, from his legs to his arms.

The clown then punched over Zazie's head right into Lee's face, blowing away the defending claw to send him flying.

The other hand ran Zazie through the stomach.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lee was on one knee, staring at Zazie in horror. Laughing, the clown pulled the sword free.

"Now you are but one. Together, you had a chance. Alone you don't even pose a threat."

Lee's eyes were full of fire as he watched Zazie slump to the ground, a dark red spot blossoming from her torso.

He began to shimmer.

"You'll pay."

Leaping forward, he launched the attack. The clown defended easily. Slipping a cut through Lee's shoddy defenses, he gashed Lee's side heavily.

It went unnoticed. Lee still fought.

The clown began to worry. All of a sudden, Lee's strikes were coming faster and faster. Even so, Lee was focused primarily on attack, so every once in a while, a falchion would slip through and slash a new wound in Lee.

However, in exchange, as the blows became all the faster, a claw would slip through, mostly to clang uselessly off the armor, only once or twice catching a seam, and even then doing no real damage.

Finally, Lee slumped to the ground, still shimmering, but also bleeding buckets from his wounds, some critical.

"Too bad, boy. You almost had me there"

Lee's eyes blazed. "I'm not done yet."

He vanished. All of a sudden the clown was struck from every direction with the force of a freight train. Flailing wildly with his scimitars, a caught and deflected a blow or two.

But it was like stopping one raindrop in a downpour.

Every blow found a seam. Every blow penetrated fully. Every blow hit a vital spot.

Lee appeared again right in front of the clown. Yelling, he slashed with all his might, and took off the clown's head.

The knee's of the body buckled, then collapsed.

Lee shook with fatigue. Using that technique in critical condition had nearly killed him. In fact, he thought, as he slumped down to check if Zazie was all right, he wasn't too sure it didn't…

He awoke to the sounds of battle. Sitting up, he looking around. Konoka stood over him, a soft blue glow surrounding her hands.

"There, that should do it."

"Where's Zazie?" Lee asked angrily.

"Right here." Snapping his head around, he saw her right beside him, alive and well, with no hole in her gut.

"Thank God you're safe." Mana looked over at them from where she was standing.

"My sentiments exactly. But that's subject to change."

What do you mean?" Mana jerked her head over at where the Clown had fallen.

"We've got problems."

And then Lee saw it. It was like a writhing, twisting ball of shadow. At least twenty tentacles extended from it, lashing out at the other members of Negi's party. Ku, Setsuna, Negi, and Kaede fought valiantly, but they were hampered by the fact that their weapons could cause no lasting damage.

Lee asked, "What happened?" Mana sighed.

"Right after you killed the clown, ewe got her to find both of you near death. You owe Konoka for healing you. However, while she was healing you, a huge shadow came out of the body and transformed into that… thing."

Zazie looked grim. "He tricked us. The knight form was false; this is his true form."

Lee sighed. "Well, I'm good for round two I guess." He said, drawing his claws.

Konoka caught his arm. "Be careful. I healed your wounds but you still have the exhaustion from the gate technique in you. I can't heal tiredness. Lee bowed his head.

"Thanks." Konoka nodded, and ran off to join the fight with Mana.

Lee turned to look at the Clown. A head appeared, with a horrible mockery of a clown face on it.

"Hello again! My, but you are fools, aren't you? I mean, come on, don't you think a clown would look like, well, I don't know a clown?" The head grew larger, as did the ball of blackness, and the number of tentacles only increased.

"Fools!"

Lee looked at the Clown. Then he turned and looked at Zazie.

He began to shimmer.

Zazie gasped. "Lee, no!"

"It's the only way." Lee said calmly, "Now, I want you to run in as fast as you can and stab him through the heart; without his armor, it'll be easy to hit, and if that doesn't kill the bastard I don't know what will. I'll keep his tentacles off of you long enough to give you a clean shot. Understand?"

But tears had formed in Zazie's eyes.

Lee sighed, "Look. If you don't want to, I'm going in alone. However, I doubt my claws have enough power to put him down for good. Do you want my attempt to be in vain? Or anyone else's attempt?" Lee gestured around him to where Zazie's friends were already in pitched battle with the Clown's tentacles.

Zazie looked around, and finally shook her head.

"All right then." Lee turned back to face the clown, still shimmering.

"Lee?" Lee turned around to see Zazie's crying face.

"Yeah?"

"I love you." Lee smiled.

"I love you too."

Lee turned back and began to run.

_20 percent… 30 percent…_

Zazie followed close behind, as fast as she could run. Lee made sure to build up his strength slowly, so he could time hitting a hundred percent right when he needed it most. Occasionally he would flicker out to slash at a tentacle that had broken free from one of the others. As they went on, the tentacles only increased.

_50 percent… 60 percent_

Lee was already tired from the first gate lifting, but the second on top of that only added to his agony. His legs burned, his arms trembled, and the sheer effort it took to contain his growing energy was staggering.

_80… 90…_

Zazie closed her eyes so she wouldn't see Lee suffering. Already she could see blood vessels rupturing from the pressure through the cuts in his pants and shirt. She could only pray that they were almost there. All of a sudden, though, over a hundred tentacles were heading right for them. The clown had seen his weakness, and was determined to kill them before they got there.

_100!_

Lee vanished. All the tentacles that had been aimed at them suddenly exploded. Her way was clear. She saw her target. Leaping up, she stabbed right at the heart.

Only to be caught by a tentacle that had popped right out of the clown's skin. It wrapped around her foot, yanked her away, and held her up. The Clown grinned.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you?"

Zazie's heart fell. She struggled, but she couldn't get free. Not in time.

For Lee's second was up.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zazie get caught. He turned to go cut her free, but all of a sudden he wasn't moving as fast as before. His legs felt like lead. His vision was going dim, and he felt so weak…

_NO!_

By sheer effort of will, Lee pushed back up to one hundred percent and dodged through the gauntlet of tentacles to cut Zazie free. The Clown howled in agony.

Zazie fell in what seemed like slow motion. As Lee shot past, she readied her scimitar, and right when she was cut free, she drew back and threw. As she fell, she saw it go end over end over end…

To pierce the clown through the heart.

"NO! How could this happen?!?! I'm too powerful for these kids to have… to have… AAAAAAAAAAAGGGHH!!!"

BOOOOM!

An explosion rocked the tent. When the dust cleared, there was nothing left. The Nightmare Clown was defeated, finally.

Still, Zazie did not smile. Sobbing, she looked around until she spotted Lee laying a corner, very still.

Too still.

"No!"

Running over, she collapsed on hi, crying her eyes out. It couldn't be, not Lee, anything but that. Closing her eyes, she gave herself up to her grief.

A hand patted her back comforting her. Funny, she thought everyone else was getting healed by Konoka. Then, this hand could only be…

"Lee!"

She opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her.

"Hi."

Smiling through her tears, Zazie yelled, "Don't EVER make me worry like that again! You scared me, Lee!" Lee chuckled.

"I'm sorry." Zazie hugged him again, hard.

"Ow! Ow, take it easy." Zazie looked at him, frowning.

"Are you going to be all right.?" Lee smiled.

"Yeah, as soon as Konoka gets her lazy butt over here." He paused as if considering.

"And I'd like to sleep for a straight year."

Zazie, her face still wet from her tears, laughed. It felt so good to hear the old Lee back.

Lee smiled and pulled her down to him and kissed her softly.

"Zazie?"

"Mm-hm?"

"NOW can we go home?"

_fin_

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